Graphic Policy Radio: Recent Episodes
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“The philosophy that leads to AI is the same philosophy as 19th Century imperialism and colonialism,” Kieron Gillen. Writer Kieron Gillen returns to reflect on the end of his time contributing to the X-Men's First Krakoan Age and the start of The Power Fantasy, his new series with Caspar Wijngaard for Image Comics. Subscribe to Kieron's delightful newsletter (especially if you're into TTRPGs) https://buttondown.com/KieronGillenICYMI Kieron and I spoke about the start of Immortal X-Men back in 2022 https://bit.ly/ImmortalX We spoke about his previous comic with Casper, Peter Canon Thunderbolt in 2021 https://bit.ly/DieCanon He's one of my favorite guests (and favorite writers) so you'll enjoy these! Psst hang out with cool comics folks on BlueSky -- I'm @ Levin https://bsky.app/profile/levin.bsky.social Kieron is @KieronGillen https://bsky.app/profile/kierongillen.bsky.social
"Alex Ross' work is really like outstanding community theater” - Steve Darnall and Alex Ross join me to talk about the rerelease of their groundbreaking policital graphic novel, Uncle Sam as well as Alex's Fantastic Four: Full Circle. "Timed for this year’s election, UNCLE SAM by Steve Darnall and Alex Ross makes its return after nearly a decade of being out of print. It's a vibrant, hallucinatory tour of modern America—the story of a star–spangled, ragged vagrant named Sam who is guided by the voices in his head and his own fractured memories. Absorbed by history–traveling visions of America’s dark past, Uncle Sam struggles to remember his true identity and piece together the scattered clues of his own experiences in this deep and thoughtful look at America’s checkered past."Alex Ross studied illustration at the American Academy of Art, then honed his craft as a storyboard artist before entering the comics field. His miniseries Marvels opened a wider acceptance for painted comics. In 1996 he produced the equally successful Kingdom Come for DC Comics. Ross is the writer/artist of the award winning Fantastic Four: Full Circle.Steve Darnall first worked with Alex Ross on the Human Torch story that served as the inspiration for the award-winning 1993 series Marvels. Steve served as a consultant on the movie Being the Ricardos and Ken Burns’s documentary Country Music. He is also the editor of Nostalgia Digest magazine, and the host of two weekly radio shows dedicated to the golden age of radio. Nostalgia Digest https://www.nostalgiadigest.com/
"I really want to protect my ability to keep making my gay little comics. That's the important thing to me."- Cartoonist Hazel Newlevant makes art that shows us how to protect our future and understand our past. Whether its their new anthology Becoming Who We Are: Real Stories About Growing Up Trans or their free zine, What's Up With Covid and How to Protect Yourself 2024 Edition (featuring advanced safety tips!) their work combines personal narative, diligent research, and charming art. Visit https://newlevant.com/ Get a copy of the free zine https://newlevant.com/covidzineMy video on how to get your mask to fit you better https://bit.ly/BendNoseWireTake action against mask bans and more -- https://covidadvocacyny.org/
"Mr. Sinister is obsessed with genetic purity and then this disaster bi bowling league shows up and stomps his ass," - Artist and Art Director Ethan Gould joins us to talk about the finale arc of Disney's X-Men '97 animated series. Episodes: Bright Eyes - Tolerance Is Extinction. We go deep on Bastian and Operation Zero Tolerance in the animated series and comics. The original 1992 animated series was a huge influence on Ethan's work so we discuss it at greater length here than I have so far on the podcast.Don't miss my conversation with the Great Steven Attewell on the X-Men '97 premier: https://bit.ly/X97 Sarah Daniel Rasher on the mid-season episodes https://bit.ly/xmen97actup Check out Ethan's art and design for the Stillfleet TTRPG https://stillfleet.com/ where you will soon be able to check out The Sometimes Kingdom on Twitch etc. Portfolio: https://cara.app/gouldiniart and https://www.instagram.com/spectralhouse/Get your Magneto Made Some Valid Points T via X-Plain the X-men podcast's Teepublic.
Covering the X-Men ’97 TV series, episodes 3-6: Fire Made Flesh, Motendo, Lifedeath and Remember It with my Deep Space Dive co-host, education research consultant and former Shakespeare professor Sarah Daniel Rasher.We’ve got:90's politics explained The love rhombus is really a hexagonEvery day the Shi'ar are Thinking About The Roman Empire What makes a good InfernoSuggestions for the X-Men’s PR strategyNobinary people having Morph feelingsReferences you might have missedDon’t miss my conversation with the late Steven Attewell about the series first two episodes: https://graphicpolicy.com/2024/04/03/x-men-97-premiere-getting-animated-with-steven-attewell-phd/
Space dads, space witches, and redemption arcs abound in the final season of Star Wars the Bad Batch and in the Tales of the Empire animated miniseries. Holly Raymond Phd, the poetess, professor, and reader of All The Star Wars Ever has returned to share her insights on these animated Star Wars shows on Disney +We cover a lot of ground in this spoiler-filled episode:Animation stylesBiology is not destiny is also true about midi-chlorian countsBeing choosy about trans narrativesDepicting war in a family-friendly showAmbiguously ethnic Jedi cultural practicesProject Necromancer, Sniper Clone X2 and the rest of the show's conspiracies"the intrinsic lesbian desire to have Asajj Ventress in every show." If you missed it, Holly and I covered Bad Batch Seasons 1 and 2 here: https://graphicpolicy.com/2023/04/27/star-wars-the-bad-batch-an-animated-dirty-dozen-of-space-dads/
This is an audio remastered version of an episode of The Venture Bros podcast originally recorded in 2016. One way we're memorializing my late friend and co-host Steven Attewell is by improving the audio quality of the earliest episodes of our podcast.Here's a favorite episode with new improved sound. * * Season 6 of the Venture Brothers: "Tanks for Nothing" and "It Happening One Night."Your hosts, Elana Levin and Steven Attewell, Phd. explore The Venture Bros show as a historian and an art history geek. We break-down the themes and references present from cinema, histotry and pop culture. While Steven is a Professor of US history. Elana has a BA in Studied Warhol A Lot (which came in handy for episode 6).Expect more then 15 minutes of famous references. * * Learn more about Steven Attewell: https://graphicpolicy.com/2024/04/11/steven-attewell-the-maester-of-fandom/The Venture Bros Podcast archives https://graphicpolicy.com/the-venture-bros-podcast/ Steven's blog: https://racefortheironthrone.wordpress.com/
Award winning mystery writer Alex Segura is co-launching hardboiled 1930’s detective Dick Tracy’s latest incarnation. We discuss Chester Gould's iconic comic detective from Dick Tracy's roots in the funny pages, the character's surprising sci-fi twists to Segura's new comic book series. We even touch on Warren Beatty’s underrated 1990 movie adaptation that featured Steven Sondheim musical numbers and Madonna! How is Dick Tracy like Riverdale? What are our dreams of a James Ellroy-verse? Whether you’re a Dick Tracy newbie, noir nerd or mostly know Segura from his popular runs on Poe Dameron, Spiderverse tales or his newest X-Men comics, don’t miss out! The new Dick Tracy comic book series is co-written by Michael Morecci with art by Chantal Aimee Osman and Geraldo Borges, colors by Mark Englehart, lettering by Jim Campbell and published by Madcave Studios.Keep tabs on https://www.alexsegura.com/
One of my greatest friends and frequent collaborator Steven Attewell has died. Here are some thoughts about his work and his history that I wanted to share with the fan community. You can make donations in his honor to the Emergency Workplace Organizing Fund https://workerorganizing.org/ Maester Steven's Legendary Tumblr: Race for the Iron Throne https://racefortheironthrone.tumblr.com/ https://racefortheironthrone.wordpress.com/A People's History of the Marvel Universe - https://graphicpolicy.com/category/history/peoples-history-of-the-marvel-universe/You can read the obit I wrote here - https://graphicpolicy.com/2024/04/11/steven-attewell-the-maester-of-fandom/The Venture Bros Podcast https://graphicpolicy.com/the-venture-bros-podcast/ His Game of Thrones Vblogs with Scott Erik Kaufman (which are also available as podcasts under Lawyers Guns and Money Podcast)
“Do not make me let you down” - Magneto From Henry Gyrich and the Great Replacement Theory to anti-mutant medical discrimination here's our conversation about the debut of the new X-Men '97 animated TV series. Steven Attewell brings a historian’s perspective to X-Men ’97 — the exciting revival of the animated X-Men show of our youth. We do a deep dive into the show’s impressive politics and significant design choices. Learn about real world political parallels both past and VERY present, developments in evolutionary science, queer themes and crop tops. This episode opens with 9 minutes of spoiler free discussion till and then a spoiler-filled look at episodes 1 and 2.Read Steven's blog https://racefortheironthrone.tumblr.com/ and his A People's History of the Marvel Universe https://graphicpolicy.com/author/stevenattewell/ And our classic roundtable in which civil rights history experts prove that no, Professor X is not MLK Jr. MLK Jr was far more radical and visionary. https://bit.ly/MLKencore
Film Noir has been a cultural touchstone for nearly a century, and Deep Space Nine revels in it in season 2 episode 8. In "Necessary Evil" we flashback to Odo and Kira's very uncute meet-cute during the Occupation. Join us as we discuss Sarah Daniel Rasher’s favourite DS9 episode, unpacking all of its references and allusions while tackling some of its hard hitting substance.From Ferengi Casablanca and the mystery of Kira’s ponytail to Odo’s multitudes and the difference between a murder and a "casualty", this episode demands a rewatch whether you're new to noir or a buff like Sarah and I. Because after all: it’s the stuff that podcasts are made of….
"Everything you're doing is a perfectly logical way to save your own life"Horror author and cultural critic Jude Ellison S. Doyle returns to the podcast to talk about his new comic book series, The Neighbors with art byLetizia Cadonici and Alessandro Santoro. A queer family moves to a small town in this tale of folk horror published by Boom Studios. The comic is rich with Celtic mythology. It wrestles with heartbreaking realities we face today —especially for trans and disabled readers. Our conversation ranges from the what makes a horror story resonate to the power of reassessing your own writing, while not trying to twist yourself for bad faith readers.Subscribe to Jude's excellent newsletter https://jude-doyle.ghost.io/Get The Neighbors! https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Neighbors-The/Jude-Ellison-S-Doyle/9781608861071
Jadzia Dax is a woman in science, a member of a structurally gender fluid species, and a batleth swinging badass. She has one of the best coming out as trans scenes. She's lived many lives and she’s the emotional glue that holds the crew together. Dax is a beloved Star Trek Deep Space Nine character and she shares a name (and more) with a fanastic writer who joins as our guest:Jadzia Axelrod is the GLAAD award nominated comics writer of Galaxy: The Prettiest Star and Hawkgirl for DC Comics. She's the writer ofThe DC Book of Pride for DK, as well as The Battle of Blood and Ink for Tor. Obviously we needed to have Jadzia on to talk about Jadzia.You can listen to Jadzia talk about Galaxy and Hawkgirl on Graphic Policy Radio here: https://graphicpolicy.com/2023/02/21/creator-jadzia-axelrod-on-galaxy-the-prettiest-star-for-dc-comicsFollow Jadzia here https://www.jaredaxelrod.com/ and as PlanetX on the socials https://twitter.com/planetx
Who lives to tell the tale of our favorite queer pirate romance/comedy? OFMD returned for a second (and final?) season on HBO Max. Linda Codega, journalist (and sailor!) joins me to discuss:What’s up with Blackbeard tourism IRL?Is Buttons a sea druid?Can we make Calypso’s Birthday the new queer Halloween?The pirate polycule? Why we really need season 3!Linda H. Codega is an award-winning entertainment journalist who has written about science fiction and fantasy media for over five years. They were previously a staff writer for io9 where they covered film, television, books, and analog games. Much of their work covers a mix of tabletop roleplaying games, pop culture, fandom, and queer intersections. Subscribe to their newsletter: https://clickbaiter.substack.com/ Listen to my pirate history deep dive for season 1, including a spoiler-free intro to the series. https://bit.ly/OFMDpod Linda’s coverage of the season 2 finalehttps://gizmodo.com/our-flag-means-death-s2-finale-izzy-hands-death-fandom-1850978817My article, Our Flag Means Death Takes Queering History to New Depthshttps://www.wired.com/story/our-flag-means-death-season-2-queering-history/ Fan activism https://ofmd-crew.com/
"Power doesn't shatter on impact with journalism," - Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Spencer Ackerman.Ackerman returns to talk about the thrilling conclusion of his DC comics debut, Waller Vs. Wildstorm, the role of journalism in social movements, blogging antiwar protests, why Tim Drake is the best Robin, and share some of his favorite Wildstorm comics. For a spoiler-free introduction to the Waller Vs. Wildstorm miniseries, listen to our conversation back in March https://bit.ly/WallerVs. Waller Vs. Wildstorm is Spencer's DC Comics Black Label mini series with co-writer Evan Narcisse, artist Jesús Merino, and color artist Michael Atiyeh. It's jawdroppingly good, even if you don't know Wildstorm. It's full of politics, espionage and Deathstroke on a jetski. This is an extremely Graphic Policy Radio series...Keep up with Spencers Journalism at https://foreverwars.ghost.io/ Spencer Ackerman is a Pulitzer Prize and National Magazine Award winning national security reporter and a new columnist for The Nation. His book, REIGN OF TERROR: HOW THE 9/11 ERA DESTABILIZED AMERICA AND PRODUCED TRUMP, won an American Book Award and was rated a 2021 book of the year by the Washington Post, the New York Times and the PBS NewsHour.
Deep Space Nine inspired us as nonbinary people. On this episode the hosts (we're both nonbinary) delve into DS9 characters read through a nonbinary lens, especially Ezri Dax, Jadzia Dax, Odo and Pel, the Ferengi.Find out:Is it nonbinary to be a Bajoran hawk? Odo's “I can't get the ears right” is extremely trans.If you’re a shapeshifter why not make yourself a cooler shirt? The limits of language and when making things awkward is the point.What we saw in this show as teens figuring out our identities Vs. what we see in it now as adults reflecting back.Catch all our past episodes of Deep Space Dive podcast: https://graphicpolicy.com/deep-space-dive/
"like a medieval manuscript full of demon sex...' but also written by an anime Mel Brooks." - H.A's stunning graphic novel is all this and more. H.A joins me to talk about his debut graphic novel, The Chromatic Fantasy available from Silver Sprocket Press. About the book:Jules is a trans man trapped in his life as a nun. The devil that the convent guards against offers him a deal to escape: an illicit tryst and lifelong possession. Jules takes the deal, and begins his new life as a criminal who’s impervious to harm. He soon meets Casper, another trans man and a poetic thief, and together they steal, lie, and cheat their way through bewildering adventures, and develop feelings for each other along the way. But as Jules and Casper’s relationship deepens, so does the devil’s jealous grasp…A gorgeously drawn graphic novel reminiscent of stained glass and illuminated manuscripts, telling a story of queer transmasc romance, daring adventure, and (literally) fighting your demons. Keep up with HA https://retrospring.net/@dirtcup_art https://www.instagram.com/dirtcup_art
A fading genre actor and an obsessed fan meet. It's not Misery at all, it's Parasocial, the latest graphic novel from the twisted minds of Erica Henderson and Alex de Campi! Parasocial is this creative team's newest collaboration since their critically acclaimed Dracula, Motherf--r! both published by Image Comics. We talk about:What makes a horror story deeply scary Who is Luke Indiana and the power of pseudonymsThe economics of fandom and genre celebrity95% of fandom is a wonderful transformative force, it's the other 5%....The power and perils of fandom and social media"A color scheme for the lies they tell themselves and a color scheme for the lies they tell other people"DraculaMaking fan art of your artAnd the Medici family's sexy bible fan artErica Henderson is a NY Times best selling and Eisner award winning artist and writer. You've read Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. Her latest is Danger and Other Unknown Risks. Buy her merch https://ericafails.threadless.com/ Alex de Campi is a writer of best selling horror/thrillers. Eisner-nominated for Bad Girls and Twisted Romance. She's a returning guest on my show-- listen to her talk about Dracula MF- https://bit.ly/alexdcVV
Krakoa will never not exist. Will never not be an aspiration and an option. — Spencer AckermanAnd do I have some news for Sebastian Shaw about civil forfeiture. — Kaetun KhlynneA journalist and a physicist join me to talk about The Fall of X, the 2023 summer X-Men comics event about the fall of Krakoa, the mutant homeland. The first part of the episode is spoiler free. We are very clear when we go on to spoilers. We discuss series including: The Hellfire Gala, Immortal X-Men, X-Men, X-Men Red, Uncanny Avengers, Dark X-Men, Alpha Flight, Realm of X and Jean Grey: Flames of Fear.Spencer Ackerman is a Pulitzer Prize and National Magazine Award winning national security reporter and a new columnist for The Nation. His book, REIGN OF TERROR: HOW THE 9/11 ERA DESTABILIZED AMERICA AND PRODUCED TRUMP, won an American Book Award and was rated a 2021 book of the year by the Washington Post, the New York Times and the PBS NewsHour. Along with Evan Narcisse, he’s the co-writer of the new DC/Black Label miniseries WALLER VS WILDSTORM with artist Jesús Merino and color artist Michael Atiyeh. Spencer was on my show to talk about his comic: https://bit.ly/WallerVs Fan & Physicist out of Austrlia, Kaetun Khlynne was on Cerebro Podcast to talk about Gateway and Manifold, two of the Indigenous Australian X-Men. Kaetun leads an eyeopening explanation Aboriginal culture and resistance to genocide in Australia and Rwanda. Listen https://spoti.fi/3RqvuAD My Marauders focused episode 3 years ago https://bit.ly/MaraudersB
The Velvet Underground didn’t sell many records at first but everyone who bought one went out and started a band*-- and now YOU can read a graphic novel about the Velvets!
I interview cartoonist Koren Shadmi about his new graphic novel, All Tomorrow's Parties: The Velvet Underground Story. His book is about the formation and dissolution of one of our favorite bands, and one of the most important rock bands of all time.
Eisner-nominated Koren Shadmi joins me to talk about The Velvet Underground's importance, why we love them and his process in making this new work of music history in comics form.
Koren Shadmi is an American-Israeli, Award-winning illustrator and cartoonist. He studied illustration at The School of Visual Arts in New York where he now teaches. His books have been published internationally and include The Twilight Man: Rod Serling and the Birth of Television, and most recently Lugosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood’s Dracula. All Tomorrow's Parties is published by Humanoids https://www.humanoids.com/y_catalog/book/id/1359
*I am paraphrasing the great Brian Eno on this.
https://www.korenshadmi.com/
Pop culture and history experts Elana Levin and Historian Steven Attewell host a close watch of the Venture Bros series finale, Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart. We'll guide you through its numerous references and themes-- from NYC geography to 60's B movies to 80s New Wave music... so much 80s synthpop.... in this series finale!
This is the 20th anniversary of the Venture Bros show and our seventh year doing a Venture Bros podcast. Listen to past coverage here https://bit.ly/VbrosPod or on this playlist https://bit.ly/vbroscast
The striking entertainment unions gave us the all-clear to do this podcast. Here are some ways to support the Writers and Actors on strike that we shared on the show.
Donate: https://entertainmentcommunity.org/
DSA Snacklist for picketlines https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/the-snacklist-support-striking-workers
Show support at a picketline near you: https://www.wgacontract2023.org/
https://www.sagaftrastrike.org/
Reading bonsu: ROB BASE & DJ E-Z ROCK, “IT TAKES TWO” essay http://marchxness.com/fadness80s-championship/
"many singular people who feel alone, but together are at least feeling alone together" - Felicia T. Perez, Narrative Strategist and Zoe Tunnell, the co-creator of the comic Blade Maidens and official explainer of trans metaphor Gwen Stacy join me to discuss the latest animated Spider-Man movie, featuring Miles Morales, Spider-Man, Across the Spiderverse.
Covering:
Diverse spidersonas, migrant roots, 'have you considered not being a cop?', and why Spider Punk doesn't listen to the Sex Pistols.
Plus: PAY YOUR DAMN ARTISTS.
Check out Felicia T. Perez narrative strategy, arts and activism projects at https://www.feliciaperez.com/
Zoe Tunnell is a trans lesbian writer and co-creator of Blade Maidens a queer fantasy adventure comic that's online for free but is being published in print with Dark Horse. And she has other new comics projects!
Read https://www.blademaidens.com and read the CNN interview with Zoe https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/11/entertainment/spider-verse-gwen-stacy-trans-cec/index.html
Support the Entertainment Strikes!
Support the Writers Strike! https://www.wgacontract2023.org/take-action/stand-with-writers
SAG-AFTRA Strike updates https://www.sagaftrastrike.org/
Donate to support workers impacted by the strikes https://entertainmentcommunity.org/
ComicsBrokeMe but organizing is the answer! The comics industry harms the artists, writers and editors who make the art we love. Building collective power is the strategy powerful enough to win. The Cartoonist Cooperative is a new vehicle for doing just that! I’m joined by one of this new organization’s founding members, Joan Zahra Dark, to talk about the organization’s goals and how readers can support it. We also talk about some cool very queer comics with gay robots and what not.
Learn more about the Cartoonist Cooperative https://cartoonist.coop/
Read about Ian McGinty, may his memory be a blessing and a revolution. https://www.comicsbeat.com/artist-ian-mcginty-has-passed-away-at-age-38/
Keep up with Joan online here-- https://www.instagram.com/whoaitsjoan
ComicsBrokeMe but organizing is the answer. The comics industry has always harmed the artists, writers and editors who make the art we love. Building collective power is the strategy powerful enough to win. The Cartoonists Cooperative is a new vehicle for doing just that! I’m joined by one of this new organization’s founding members Joan Zahra Dark to talk about the organization’s goals and how readers can support it. We also talk about some cool very queer comics with gay robots and what not.
You can learn more about the Cartoonist Cooperative Here https://cartoonist.coop/
You can read more about Ian McGinty, may his memory be a blessing and a revolution. https://www.comicsbeat.com/artist-ian-mcginty-has-passed-away-at-age-38/
Keep up with Joan online here-- https://www.instagram.com/whoaitsjoan
Possibly the most political comic on the stands, Justice Warriors is a brutal, hilarious and ornately drawn new satirical comic about policing, power and AI in the dystopian Bubble City. Join series co-creators Ben Clarkson and Matt Bors as we talk about their first trade paperback published by Ahoy Comics.Matt Bors is a cartoonist, writer, editor, and the founder of The Nib. He was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist for his political cartoons in 2012 and 2020 His cartoons were collected in the book We Should Improve Society Somewhat. Ben Clarkson is an artist, animator, filmmaker and writer based in Montreal. His work has appeared on Adult Swim, Time.com and been featured in GQ. Justice Warriors is his first comic series. I want to credit Justice Warriors colorist Felipe Sobriero for his work too.Petition on alogrithmic justice I mentioned https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/algorithmic_accountability
Star Wars newest animated series is both fascinating and frustrating. Dig into the Bad Batch’s big questions with guest Dr. Holly Schaeffer-Raymond.The Bad Batch reflects on the rise of fascism, biology as destiny and social programing. This episode's first 20 minutes are spoiler-free to help you decide if you want to watch. Then join us for:What the show has to say about about workers’ rights.Is Rhea Pearlman's Cid a Yoda? Why Omega is a good kid character.Can 3D animation be good, actually?Dr. Holly Schaeffer-Raymond is an adjunct professor of English who holds an MFA in Poetry and a PhD in English at Temple University, where she also teaches. She’s the author of two poetry collections, Mall is Lost and Heaven’s Wish to Destroy All Minds, and has been included in We Want It All: An Anthology of Radical Trans Poetics and The Bedfellows Little Black Book. Her writing about comics has appeared on Shelfdust, and her writing about poetry has appeared at The Poetry Project, The Volta, and elsewhere.Visit https://unwhitewashthebadbatch.carrd.co/ for perspective on white washing in the series and actions to take.Cartoon of "Sheev" is by Holly herself.
"How the carceral state seeks to manipulate and dispose of its rogues, its dregs, its captives and put them to deniable use by intelligence agencies... It would be malpractice of me, for what I cover, if I wasn't interested in that!" - Spencer Ackerman, co-writer of Waller vs Wildstorm for DC Comics and award winning national security journalist.Spencer Ackerman discusses his debut comic, a Year One look at the career of future Suicide Squad boss Amanda Waller. His miniseries, with co-writer Evan Narcisse, artist Jesús Merino and color artist Michael Atiyeh weaves together Wildstorm & DC Comics espionage lore through the lens of Cold War geopolitics--as only they can.First 43 minutes of this episode are spoiler free. Be sure to subscribe to Spencer Ackerman's newsletter https://foreverwars.ghost.io/ where he shares thoughts about this series as well as reporting and essays that "chronicle, investigate and interrogate the continuities, departures and permutations of the War on Terror."That gorgeous cover in the preview is by Jorge Fornes.
What if the attack on the US Capitol succeeded? 1/6 is a 4 part comics series written by Alan Jenkins and Gan Golan and illustrated by Will Rosado. Prof. Jenkins and Golan joined me on the podcast to talk about their comic which combines comics journalism, speculative fiction and activism. Drawing on real-life events, 1/6 travels the road that led from back-room meetings, white supremacist rallies, and the Four Seasons Landscaping parking lot to a violent attack on the Capitol that left several Americans dead and shook our nation to its core. It imagines a world in which the events of that day turned out very differently. Through a diverse cast of characters 1/6 builds towards a story of how we might organize and fight for democracy.Buy the comic AND check out their forthcoming action guide - http://onesixcomics.com/
“Being normal was never going to save me,” says Galaxy the trans space princess protagonist of GLAAD Award Nominated graphic novel Galaxy: The Pretiest Star. “That’s my 'with great power comes great responsibility' moment. That's [Galaxy's] superhero moment,” says co-creator, writer Jadzia Axelrod.Jadzia is the author of Galaxy: The Prettiest Star, a new YA graphic novel illustrated by Jess Taylor and published by DC Comics. Jadzia joins us to talk about creating this new trans (and not just metaphorically trans) superheroine, her creative process, some DC Comics queer history, why David Bowie works in a contemporary graphic novel and Hawkgirl's favorite football team."Taylor Barzelay has the perfect life. Good looks, good grades, a starting position on the basketball team, a loving family, even an adorable corgi. Every day in Taylor’s life is perfect. And every day is torture.Taylor is actually the Galaxy Crowned, an alien princess from the planet Cyandii, and one of the few survivors of an intergalactic war. For six long, painful years, Taylor has accepted her duty to remain in hiding as a boy on Earth.That all changes when Taylor meets Metropolis girl Katherine “call me Kat” Silverberg, whose confidence is electrifying. Suddenly, Taylor no longer wants to hide, even if exposing her true identity could attract her greatest enemies. From the charming and brilliant mind behind the popular podcast The Voice of Free Planet X, Jadzia Axelrod, and with stunningly colorful artwork by Jess Taylor comes the story of a girl in hiding who must face her fears to see herself as others see her: the prettiest star."
Swift fan organizing gets the goods! Dungeons & Dragons planned to change how independent content creators could monetize their D&D-related work, but backlash caused the Hasbro-owned company to change the controversial plan. Hear what this Gargantuan news from the world of tabletop role playing games means for comics fans and fandom at large with the TTRPG reporter who broke the story, Linda Codega.Keep up with Codega's reporting here https://gizmodo.com/author/lcodegahttps://twitter.com/lincodega http://lindahcodega.com/ Listen to the GP Radio guide to getting into TTRPGs - https://bit.ly/ttrpgGP
Shelfdust.com asked 150 comic book critics to list our favourite event storylines, "You know the type – something big, dramatic, crossing over a dozen different comics across the course of a few months, with everybody being effected by whatever it is that happens at the end of the story. Whether it be a Crisis or War of some kind, or just the latest in an annual routine which sees Earth invaded by some kind of bigger and badder threat than any that Earth has seen for, well, at least six months or so."- Steve Morris, founder of Shelfdust.Critic Steve Morris joins us to talk about the results of the critics poll, what makes for a great event and what even counts as an event anyway!Read the lists of top 50 comics events: https://shelfdust.com/tag/top-fifty-comic-book-events/Support Shelfdust -https://www.patreon.com/shelfdustMy essay on OMAC for Shelfdust's notorious Infinite Crisis series https://shelfdust.com/2020/10/08/infinite-crisis-with-elana-levin-who-or-what-is-omac/
Rebel organizer Charles Lenchner and Jedi Master Klaudia Amenábar return to cover the second half of Andor season 1, showrunner Tony Gilroy's revolutionary Star Wars show-- which airs, somehow on Disney+. In part 1 of my podcast's Andor coverage (listen to that episode first https://bit.ly/ComradeAndor) we joked about a Star Wars reimagining of "The Internationale". I loved the idea so much, that we made one. Original melody composed by Pierre De Geyter, Star Wars-ified lyrics by Katie Unger. Vocals by me while I was sick with COVID but didn't know it yet (hence the delayed release of this podcast and my less than polished singing). Check out Klaudia's podcast: RuPalp's Podrace: A Queer Star Wars Podcast https://rupalps-podrace-a-queer-star-wars-podcast.simplecast.com/ and find more of her writing and Star Wars resources https://linktr.ee/kaludiasaysFollow Charles Lenchner on twitter (for now - https://twitter.com/clenchner )
From the sound of Mayan spoken in a Marvel movie, to the beauty of wearing a mask to breathe, Ryan Coogler’s new Black Panther movie, Wakanda Forever has a lot to say.
And so does my panel of experts:
Moji Alawode-El, Feminist Buzzkills Podcast https://www.aafront.org/fbklive/
Marcus Pinn, Zebras in America podcast / Pinnland Empire film blog http://www.pinnlandempire.com/
Felicia Perez, Head of Memes at TaskForce.US . https://www.feliciaperez.com/
PS there is an audio glitch when Elana is explaining Riri Williams. Elana is trying to say that in the comics the character Riri Williams was specifically designed to be a superhero.
Comrade Nemik isn't alone in developing a revolutionary analysis of the world of Star Wars. My expert guests bring a knowledge of the history of revolutions, the huge Star Wars mythos and real world activism to their analysis of the first 7 episodes of the series, Andor.
"I do love when Star Wars is like, yes, I know they're Nazis, but did you know they're also the United States" - Klaudia Amenábar, RuPalp’s Podrace
"Both sides are attempting to use polarization to advance their goals." - Charles Lenchner, Organizing 2.0/former political prisoner.
"What is the Rebels' Ladder of Engagement?" - Elana Levin, host/ Organizing 2.0.
The first approx 20 minutes of this episode are entirely spoiler-free.
For Klaudia's podcasts, writing and social media https://linktr.ee/kaludiasays
For an uncorrected transcript of this episode: https://share.descript.com/view/obP89Xhg4Wr
For people imagining a Star Wars version of The Internationale, stay till the end.
From Bajor to the Bronx we're joined by State Senator Gustavo Rivera, a tried and true Trekkie. Serving in the New York Senate since 2010, Gustavo has beaten the odds, facing down real world Kai Winns, negotiating soil reclamator disputes and championing New York's Medicare for All bill.
We talk about communities, real and fictional alike, pulling through the wreckage of colonialsm. Especially Puerto Rico and Bajor.
Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Rivera4TheBronx and https://twitter.com/NYSenatorRivera
Donations still needed for the Puerto Rican-lead Hurricaine Fiona Community Response Fund https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fionaresponse
Elana takes full responsibility for the really sloppy photoshop images.
Blade Maidens is a fantasy adventure romance comic starring two disaster mercenaries trying to get by. Read it online for free at https://www.blademaidens.com/
The serie's creators joined me to talk about their fantastic debut series. Also, the X-men, a little.
Valentine Smith is a writer, illustrator, and comic artist. They were shaped by a love of horror movies, music, and comicbooks. Their website has the wonderful X-Men fan comics the team made prior to making their own series. http://www.valentinemsmith.com/
Zoe Tunnell is a trans, lesbian writer who previously wrote criticism and essays for sites like WWAC and ComicsXF and has transitioned (for the second time in her life!) into writing comics proper with Blade Maidens. Follow her https://twitter.com/blankzilla
DS9's Mirror Universe episodes: simultaniously campy and tragic, we love these episodes' windows into other possible Star Trek worlds. Join us as we recalibrate the transporter polarity for a journey through the looking glass.
Deep Space Dive is a Star Trek Deep Space Nine podcast where we examine the serie's social and artistic themes and characters-- particularly with a queer lens. We don't do recaps, we do do spoilers. DS9 came out in the 90s, so watch then listen.
Catch up on our podcast within a podcast with this playlist of Deep Space Dive episodes https://graphicpolicy.com/deep-space-dive/. This is episode 9.
Got a question? Tweet at Elana - https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn or email: deep space dive podcast gmail.com (no spaces).
Let's Do the Time Warp Again as we cover a classic episode of The Venture Bros animated series: Season 1 finale, Return to Spider-Skull Island, aka that Easy Rider episode.
Professor Steven Attewell and I (Elana Levin) will walk you through a classic Venture Bros episode. We'll explain the film history, music and all the themes and references in this episode which draws a ton from two iconic movies that had huge subcultural impact. Also, I sing more than normal.
Follow me, Elana Levin https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn and my co-host, historian Steven Attewell, Phd. https://racefortheironthrone.tumblr.com/
As Neil Gaiman wrote, "The price of getting what you want is getting what you once wanted." So what of the new Netflix TV series based on the groundbreaking comics series we grew-up on, The Sandman? Join Sandman fans as we talk about the comics we loved and our thoughts about the first four episodes of the new series. The first part of the episode is spoiler-free.
Apollo Gonzales is a digital strategist who advises progressive advocacy campaigns on engaging and mobilizing their communities. He sits on the board of Climate Access, a nonprofit focused on building political and public support for climate and clean energy solutions, and Our Back Yards https://ioby.org/ a nonprofit crowdfunding platform whose mission is funding community led projects. Apollo is also holds public office, and serves on city council in the small Texas town of Brookside Village.
Ben Kahn is a GLAAD Award nominated writer of comics and novels. You can check out their comics including the GLAAD nominated graphic novel Renegade Rule, and the soon to be re-released in bookstores Heavenly Blues. Their debut novel, Elle Campbell Saves Their Saturday, will be out from Scholastic in Fall 2023. https://twitter.com/BenTheKahn Their podcast is Progressively Horrified https://progressivelyhorrified.transistor.fm/
Fresh perspectives on Taika Waititi's latest for Marvel. Let's see how Thor Love and Thunder applies the organizing addage: "closer to the problem = closer to the solution".
Jeanne is a Queer Biracial Tongan media critic and author known for sharing her unique perspective on popular media on Twitter, guest appearances on podcasts, and arguing in bars about temporal paradoxes. https://twitter.com/fangirlJeanne.
Johnnie Jae is an Otoe-Missouria and Choctaw founder, journalist, organizer, creator, and futurist empowering others to chase their passions and create for healing and revolutionary change. She is the founder of A Tribe Called Geek, an award-winning media platform for Indigenous Geek Culture and STEM, and #Indigenerds4Hope, a suicide prevention initiative designed to educate, encourage, and empower Native youth. Jae is a co-founder of Not Your Mascots and LiveIndigenousOK as well as a founding member of the Fan Organizer Coalition.
Jena English is an educator/filmmaker currently teaching film and media at a girls school in Los Angeles. She is also a graphic designer and photographer. Her most recent project is Validation, a web series about the life and times of a parking attendant with a heart of gold. https://vimeo.com/showcase/8749735
PS Jean's epic Thor tread is a must-read https://twitter.com/fangirlJeanne/status/1551661323456356352
"I want Ms.Marvel to give us the kind of personal fuel to continue to do this work and keep our eyes on the campaigns we're trying to win." —Sabiha Basrai.
Ms. Marvel, the MCU's latest on Disney+ gets a close read from our expert panel. We open with a spoiler-free pitch of why we enjoyed the show then cover the full TV series.
Darakshan Raja is a Pakistani - American organizer and Bhangra DJ. She is the founding executive director of Muslims for Just Futures (MJF), a grassroots organization that builds power in Muslim communities through collective care, organizing, advocacy, and movement-building. https://twitter.com/DarakshanRaja
Harini Marchadi is a college student studying biology and history. She is particularly interested in questions of nationalism in formerly colonized nations and interactions between countries affected by colonialism. https://twitter.com/harini_marchadi
Sabiha Basrai is a graphic designer and social justice organizer involved with economic justice, immigrant rights, and anti-war organizing since the mid-1990s. For the last 16 years, Sabiha has been a co-owner of Design Action Collective where she works at the intersection of visual arts and activism. designaction.org
Sabiha shared a list of some of her fave orgs fighting for justice here and in South East Asia. They won't all fit in my show notes so read them here: https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn/status/1549938780022374400?s=20&t=n5a2G7PaqgcZbFBILt5n7w
Fish people thruples & critiques of the space prison system abound as DC's Young Justice animated series returns on HBO to conclude its 4th season. Guests that helped me cover the first half of this season have returned to update our DCAU mood boards with the Emerald Empress and some Fourth World worthy art.
Dr. Khaliden Nas is a writer & researcher with a PhD in Media and Culture Studies from the University of Sussex. His work explores the realities of queer subjectivity, self-conception, otherness and the intersections of culture and identity. https://twitter.com/alsopurp
Nathaniel Hubbard, or Hub, is a podcaster and writer. He is the co-host and producer of Titan Up the Defense a podcast where he and his brother cover Teen Titans and Defenders comics in chronological order. https://twitter.com/ttwasteland_
Catch up on our coverage of the first half of season 4 here https://bit.ly/YJ4Marzz
PS. Dick Grayson clearly picked up all the red yarn Hub had to throw away when his Cameleon Lad conspiracy theory fell apart. But has Khaliden cooked up a whole new theory for Beast Boy's corgi? “Name a shapeshifter— that's who it is.”
“Dick Grayson is no Detective Chimp” -- Hub.
NY's 1st Socialist State Senator in 100 years, get's the graphic novel treatment in Sofia Warren's new graphic memoir -- Radical: My Year With a Socialist Senator.
New York, Socialism, community organizng and COMICS are near the top of my list of interests so I'm excited to have cartoonist Sofia Warren on the show to talk about her book. Reading this graphic memoir might make you feel a little more hopeful and inspired and certainly a lot more well informed about how political organizing can win change for the better at the local level -- no matter where you are.
Here's Sofia's instagram https://www.instagram.com/sofiawarrenart/?hl=en
And here's the Opertation Save Abortion online event July 17 I promote in my intro - https://www.aafront.org/operation-save-abortion/
DC Comics Pride Month anthology features an all ace creative team telling a story of now canonically ace Green Arrow, Connor Hawke! Artists/Writers Ro Stein and Ted Brandt join me to discuss their work. Also, for Marvel Voices Pride they’ve co-created Shela Sexton (Escapade) and Morgan Red, Marvel's newest trans woman and transmasc nb mutants respectively.
We'll hear about Ted and Ro's background as artists as well as their work creating and interpretting queer characters at the big two publishers.
Keep up with Ted on twitter at -- https://twitter.com/ten_bandits and Ro https://twitter.com/RoStein404
Happy pride!
Neal Adams was a giant: from his art to his fight for artists' rights we'll talk about his legacy and work. This roundtable is for Neal Adams newbies and experts alike. You'll even hear some new personal stories about Adams' unique status as The Dad of Comics.
Joining me are:
Bryan Stratton is a writer, digital consultant, and co-host of the Marvel by the Month podcast, which covers each month of Marvel Comics history in chronological order. https://marvelbythemonth.com/
Emily C. Martin, illustrator, comic artist, teacher, podcaster and amateur martial artist. Martin is on Patreon as megamoth as well as Twitter, and mega_moth on Instagram and co-hosts Progressively Horrified Podcast. https://progressivelyhorrified.transistor.fm/
Ramon Villalobos is a Stockton California based comic artist and host of the comics podcast Mex Flentallo.
"A diagnosis should set somebody free. It should be a descriptor, not a definition" - Emmett Hobbes.
Royale: The Prussian Blue is a Lupin III-meets-Pan’s Labyrinth caper. A renowned white-hat burglar stumbles into London’s supernatural underbelly to win his target back from an untouchable (and mysterious) art collector. It's a very queer and extremely well crafted heist comic that truly stands out and you can read it on the Webtoons app.
Writer and artist Emmett Hobbes joins me to talk about his work, neurodiversity, queerness and also the comics classic Preacher. Of course!
Follow him here: https://twitter.com/emmettcomix
Or his website; https://www.emmettcomix.art/
Royale credits: Story and ink: Emmett Hobbes | Color: Hank Jones | Costume design: Erik Ojo and Seth Smith | Edited: Ethan Leblanc and Spencer Gooding | Technical assist: Traceton Randolph | Published exclusively by Webtoon Originals
Deep Space Nine's handling of religion is unique in Star Trek. While other Trek treats faith with skepticism and suspicion, DS9 depicts a variety of religious characters who explore faith in their own ways.
Our guest: Anthony Oliveira is a National Magazine award and GLAAD award-winning author (his comics "My Drag Brunch with Loki" and “X:Men Early Thaw” are queer Marvels). His graphic novel, Apocrypha, about queer teens versus the Christian apocalypse, has been acquired by HarperTeen. His first novel, Dayspring, is forthcoming from Strange Light Press in 2023.
He’s online @meakoopa, where he tweets about the arts, politics, and LGBT culture, or on his podcast, The Devil’s Party, as he reads through the classics of Christian literature (including Milton’s poetry and the Gospels) through a queer scholarly lens. https://anthonyoliveira.com
"[Blackbeard] is presenting as a queer character, not just within our time, but within his own time" - Tea Fougner.
"It's historical fiction about pirates if the executive producers were all tumbler users" - Cayden Mak.
Pirate Tea and First Mate Cayden Mak have boarded the show to talk about Taika Waititi and David Jenkins' glorious new show on HBO, Our Flag Means Death. It's a queer pirate romcom with roots in history and a remarkable diverse cast.
The conversation is spoiler-free till about 13 minutes in. There's a special intro to this episode about a real life crisis that's happening-- and what you can do about it (one place to start - https://transequality.org
My guests:
Tea Fougner (who is 30% pirate facts by volume) is the editorial director for Comics at King Features Syndicate and co-chair of Programming for Flame Con, the world's largest LGBTQ+ comic convention. Tea co-modded a 200-person pirate RPG for three years and has a 13-hour piratecore playlist on Spotify. Listen here https://t.co/Abq5wIkips & follow https://twitter.com/teaberryblue
Cayden Mak https://twitter.com/cayden has spent the past decade organizing people for racial justice leveraging many aspects of technology and pop culture fmrly of 19 Million Rising (an Asian American Pacific Islander civic organizing group I love.
Embrace the Neo-Claremontism and "warped Mutant Catholicism" as writer Kieron Gillen returns to X-Men comics as the writer of Immortal X-Men with artists Lucas Werneck & David Curiel. He's revisiting Mr. Sinister and Hope Summers, two characters he's left an indellible mark on, who have new prominance in the Krakoan Era of X-Men. There's politics, backstabbing and of course music.
Here's his Immortal X-Men Playlist - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1slXJJdxhqg2CxDKQHepog
At about 1 hr and 5 minutes in Kieron offers some great advice to RPG players.
Here's our most recent episode together - https://bit.ly/DieCanon
Check out Kieron's games https://kierongillen.itch.io/
His enlightening newsletter https://buttondown.email/KieronGillen/
Comics critic Harry Kassen guides a jounrney through the many phases of Moon Knight's Marvel comics series from 1975 through today -- just in time for his big Disney + TV debut. Moon Knight isn't just a source of absurdist memes -- he reflects changes in the comics medium. We'll look at some of the best runs of Moon Knight with an especially close look at comics art legend Bill Sienkiewicz who's style came into its own through the series.
So join us to learn about the alteregos, the angst and most of all the artists that make Moon Knight more than Marvel's color-shifted Batman.
Be sure to follow guest expert comics critic Harry Kassen at https://twitter.com/leekassen
Image notes:
All full page comics images are Bill Sienkiewicz pencils. Inks on #2 - Bob McLeod #3 & 5 Klaus Janson #6 Frank Giancoia. "Has anyone dated Moon Knight" is from Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleeve. "I have an enemy" is words Jed MacKey, art Alessandro Cappuccio, Rachelle Rosenberg.
Anthony Award-winning writer Alex Segura talks about his new book Secret Identity, a rollicking literary mystery set in the world of comics. The book combines comics and prose for a vivid1975 NYC featuring new protagist, writer Carmen Valdez. We discuss our shared love of the noir genre and his time writing Archie meeting The Ramones and Blondie and other delights.
Check out the book https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250801753/secretidentity
And follow Alex online: https://twitter.com/alex_segura
James Gunn's HBO series Peacemaker picks up where The Suicide Squad left off. It features D-List DC superheroes, 80s glam metal, beating up the KKK, maintaining The Security State and having a gender crisis.
My guests:
Jamelle Bouie is a columnist for the New York Times Opinion section. unCLEAR and Present Danger podcast.
Spencer Ackerman is a journalist and author of REIGN OF TERROR: How The 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump, out now from Viking. And later this year will co-write a SUICIDE SQUAD miniseries for DC/Black Label
Cayden Mak has spent the past decade organizing people for racial justice leveraging many aspects of technology and pop culture fmrly of 19 Million Rising (an Asian American Pacific Islander civic organizing group I love).
My essay about Peacemaker's use of glam metal + my educational playlist https://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2022/02/theres-no-wrong-time-to-rock-a-peacemaker-inspired-playlist/
@Ali_Galactic's thread on Vigilante's trans subtext - https://twitter.com/Ali_Galactic/status/1493339062429704195
Down & Out on M'arzz and Atlantis to cover Young Justice Season 4, episodes 1-13 which aired on HBO.
"A PowerPoint being given in pocket dimension" - Hub
"That was the moment I added [Onyx] to my Mood Board." - Dr. Khaliden Nas
Guests:
Dr. Khaliden Nas is a writer & researcher with a PhD in Media and Culture Studies from the University of Sussex. His work explores the realities of queer subjectivity, self-conception, otherness and the intersections of culture and identity. https://www.alsopurple.com/ and https://twitter.com/alsopurp
Nathaniel Hubbard, or Hub, is a podcaster and writer. He is the co-host and producer of Titan Up the Defense a podcast where he and his brother cover Teen Titans and Defenders comics in chronological order (which is absolutely one of my comfort listens and fucking hilarious). and What the Duck?! A Podcast Most Fowl (But with a "W" Cause He's a Duck) That's the Full Name of the Show, and a writer for Garden Plots With Skeletor, where he also plays Mer-Man. Listen to Titan Up the Defense podcast or bug Hub at https://twitter.com/ttwasteland_
"I wanted to defend the reputation of Silver Age X-Men." - Steven Attewell, Phd.
Our favoriate historian is back to talk about his essay series, The People's History of The Marvel Universe -- where he looks at how real world politics and history are refelcted in classic comics. Read it: https://graphicpolicy.com/category/history/peoples-history-of-the-marvel-universe/?order=asc
Our conversation convers;
Magneto's political development from Silver Age through Claremont
Why Canada is extra evil in the 616
And of course, Captain America fighting tax evasion.
We also get a preview of Steven's upcoming essay that will tackle the problematic retconning of The Falcon, Sam Wilson, from social worker to gangster.
Steven Attewell writes about the intersection of history, politics and pop culture in The People's HIstory of the Marvel Universe for Graphic Policy.com In his day job he teaches public policy at City Unversity of New York's School for Labor and Urban Studies.
His blog - https://racefortheironthrone.wordpress.com/
12 years of podcasting & I finally did an episode about Art Spiegelman's Maus.
Guests
Ethan Heitner is a cartoonist who lives in New York City. among other things. Most recently he helped edit the 51st issue of the radical political comix anthology World War 3 Illustrated, available now from AK Press and subtitled "The World We Are Fighting For."
Leo Ferguson is the Director of Strategic Projects at Jews For Racial & Economic Justice. He is the founder of JFREJ's Jews of Color caucus, lead organizer for the Jews of Color National Convening, and a lead author of Understanding Antisemitism. He is a graduate of the Grace Paley Organizing Fellowship, The Bend The Arc Selah Fellowship, the JOIN Don’t Kvetch, Organize Masterclass, proudly Black & Jewish, a lifelong New Yorker, and a musician.
Gregory Paul Silber is a Brooklyn-based writer, editor, and critic specializing in comic books and pop culture. His work has appeared in outlets like PanelXPanel, Shelfdust, NeoText Review, The Daily Dot and The Comics Beat, which is home to his weekly humor column, Silber Linings. He is also a comic book writer and a freelance comics editor.
Gregory Silber's Open Letter to the McMinn County Schoolboard https://www.comicsbeat.com/an-open-letter-to-the-mcminn-county-board-of-education-regarding-maus/
Greg and Elana on Jewish horror films https://progressivelyhorrified.transistor.fm/episodes/the-golem-aka
Ethan’s Zine https://www.czolgoszsyzygy.com/product/the-czolgosz-syzygy-1
"Hola" from Wonder Woman's corner of comics where I interview Stephanie Williams, co-writer of Nubia and the Amazons. Yes, Wonder Woman had a Black twin sister at one point in DC comics canon and now she's the star of her own series.
Updated from her 1973 origins "Nubia becomes queen of Themyscira, but the new title also brings challenges. With the unexpected arrival of new Amazons, our hero is forced to reckon with her past and forge a new path forward for her sisters. This unforgettable miniseries from writers Vita Ayala and Stephanie Williams, along with all-star artist Alitha Martinez (Future State) brings the fan-favorite character back to the DCU for good. After Nubia, the world of the Amazons will never be the same!"
Stephanie Williams is a comic book historian and pop culture critic who has written for notable publications such as SYFYFANGRRLS, Marvel, The A.V. Club, Nerdist, Den of Geek, and Rotten Tomatoes. Stephanie is also a comic creator with three ongoing webcomics, Parenthood Activate!, But What If Though?, and Living Heroes. She wrote a short story featuring Monica Rambeau in Marvel’s Voices: Legacy. She is currently co-writing the Nubia and the Amazons series tor DC Comics.
Follow Steph - https://twitter.com/Steph_I_Will
and listen to her 1st time on my podcast -- https://bit.ly/livinheroes
Hawk-guy John Arminio guests host our discussion of the iconic Hawkeye comics series created by Matt Fraction and David Aja AND the new Hawkeye TV series on Disney+.
With Arminio are guests Scott Thorough and Kat Overland. They also get into how to create a comic that has a real sense of place, what New York smells like, Clint Barton's terrible personal life, and Kate Bishop's LA vacation with... Elliot Gould?! PLUS: John learns how to pronounce "David Aja" and everyone gives some great recommendations if Hawkeye has you hungry for more amazing comics!
Scott is a Brooklyn-born social worker currently based in Baltimore. He is a brilliant musician and podcaster and can be heard on the Zebras In America Podcast with co-host Marcus Pinn. Zebras In America can be found on Twitter @ZebrasPod, and Scott's music can be found at https://scottthorough.bandcamp.com/.
Kat is the small press editor at the two-time Eisner-winning WWAC (Women Write About Comics), where she also writes criticism, reviews, and tweets; she also has bylines at Shelfdust, Daily Beast, Comics MNT, and more. A mid-thirties Latine in DC, in non-pandemic times you could find her cosplaying as America Chavez and buying old Generation X comics at conventions. Currently, you can hear them on Untitled Tallgeese Podcast https://twitter.com/tallgeesepod discussing Gundam Wing and the history of fandom on the Internet. Kat can be found on Twitter @dogunderwater.
John Arminio is a fan of comics, heavy metal, and movies and has the opportunity to pedal these passions at Comix Connection in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. You can find him jabbering on the Internet @QuasarSniffer on Twitter and Instagram.
Attention Bajoran Workers: This is Now a Gul Dukat Podcast.
Gul Dukat is more than a scenery-chewing space lizard war criminal who looks like Mitt Romney - he’s Star Trek's most complex villian. Talking about Dukat means talking about colonialism, fragile masculinity, and the interplay between mental health and morality.
And Deep Space Dive is a Star Trek Deep Space Nine podcast all about topics like those. So join Sarah Daniel Rasher and Elana Levin for a deep dive into the text and subtext where few Star Trek podcasts have gone before.
Catch up on past episodes here - https://soundcloud.com/graphicpolicy/sets/deep-space-dive
Distrubingly accurate Real Gul Dukat twitter account https://twitter.com/realGulDukat
The tumblr post we reference -- https://roadhouseendgame.tumblr.com/post/664651419419394048/i-was-talking-to-my-mom-about-cardassians-and-said
“I hate to spoil a good evil overlord narrative but… “ - Brandon Wilson.
Because our take on Marvel's The Eternals isn't a refernedum on diverisity in corporate movies (dear lord can you imagine if it freaking was?! ) Joiin us for a nuanced analysis of the movie.
Filmmaker Brandon David Wilson returns to talk about The Eternals from his perspective as a filmmaker, lecturer and lifelong Marvel comics fan (which an eye for criticism). Follow him at https://twitter.com/Geniusbastard
Brandon Wilson is a filmmaker and lecturer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he attended UCLA where he took a B.A. in African-American Studies and an M.F.A. from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television.
Brandon has directed two micro-budget features: 2005’s The Man Who Couldn’t… which is on YouTube and Sepulveda from 2016 which is streaming for free on Vimeo.
Wilson has taught Film Analysis for Filmmakers and Introduction to Editing courses at UCLA. He also teaches at Columbia College Hollywood, Los Angeles Valley College, NYU’s Los Angeles Branch, and Long Beach City College where he teaches classes on auteur filmmakers, national cinemas, the essay film, and diversity in cinema.
Listen to experts disucss The Eternals comics for more on the source material -- https://graphicpolicy.com/2021/10/21/eternals-the-comics-jack-kirby-museums-rand-hoppe-karen-charm-of-comics-xf/
“I’m thrilled that the book got you laid” - Tina Horn author of SFSX (Safe Sex).
Tina Horn returns to talk about her sci-fi sex rebel comic book series. Writer TINA HORN and artist G Romero-Johnson's SFSX (SAFE SEX) Terms of Service is a cyberpunk thriller graphic novel. "After their previous adventures in sex, love, and torture left them separated and traumatized, the Dirty Mind heroes must face the totalitarian Party’s latest “social program” ― one involving uncanny sexpots and a twisted men’s rights movement."
Tina Horn is the host of Why Are People Into That?! podcast and writes and lectures on sexual subcultures and politics.
CW: bi queers discussing biphobia, whorephobia, transphobia. Vague mentions of fictional characters' sexual interests.
Listen to Tina's badass playlists featured in the series- https://open.spotify.com/user/icsf1csd2stfbfepckfsu6yip
And listen to our first conversation here https://www.blogtalkradio.com/graphicpolicy/2020/07/29/comics-writer-tina-horn-on-sfsx-freedom-safety-in-the-scifi-sex-dystopia
Comic book retailers give advice on buying the right gift -- from games to toys to books-- for your friends and family while supoorting local comics businesses. Hear their tips on the things that are far better to buy at a LCBS than anywhere else.
"A great gift is a gift that a person won’t by for themselves. No one would buy a 100-sided die for themselves but they wouldn’t mind owning one "- Dimitrios, Anyone Comics in Crown Heights Brooklyn.
"I like to get people to try new art. That's awesome:." — John Arminio, Comix Connection in Mechanicsburg, PA.
Dimitrios is the owner of Anyone Comics in Crown Heights Brooklyn. https://twitter.com/AnyoneComics
John Arminio is a Counter Monkey at Comix Connection in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. He is a passionate fan of comic books, film, and heavy metal, and you can hear him discuss such topics on recent episodes of The Pink Smoke and Movies From Hell. He posts about all these subjects as QuasarSniffer on Twitter and Instagram. https://twitter.com/quasarsniffer
Give artists money. Thats the universal cray from any comicbook person
Doom Patrol Season 3 asks some big questions about the purpose art and the purpose of a time machine.
Lux Alptraum is a writer and podcast host whose smart commentary has been featured in a wide variety of outlets including The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, and Hustler. She’s tackled the thorny topics of leaked celebrity sex tapes and public apologies as the host of the second second season New York Magazine’s Tabloid and Audible’s Say You’re Sorry, and helped shape the Peabody-nominated TV show http://Sex.Right.Now. as a development producer. Her debut book, Faking It: The Lies Women Tell About Sex — And the Truths They Reveal, examines our cultural obsession with feminine deceit.
Christiaan Perez is Manager of Media Strategy at The Opportunity Agenda, a social justice communications Lab. Christiaan collaborate with researchers, advocates and creative strategists to help develop stories that advance intersectional solutions on voting rights, criminal justice reform, and much more. Christiaan entered the fandom space through Star Trek Next Generation and the Michael Keaton Batman.
Check out my Season 2 coverage -- https://bit.ly/patrolS2
“When [Jack Kirby] came back to Marvel he was making Kirby comics, he was not making Marvel comics. And we’re the richer for it” -Rand Hoppe, Jack Kirby Museum
Jack Kirby’s 1977 comics series is a witty psychedelic saga about the Day of Judgement. Join Eternals experts for a look at Kirby's underrated series historical context. Plus hear which other Eternals series we enjoy (and which you can skip).
Rand Hoppe had the idea for a non-profit devoted to Jack Kirby in 2004. Thanks to John Morrow from The Jack Kirby Collector and TwoMorrows Publishing and Jack’s daughter Lisa Kirby, the Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center was founded in 2005. https://kirbymuseum.org/ Karen Charm (they/them) is a cartoonist and life-long X-Men fan. They write a lot about Eternals for Comics XF, including putting together an Eternals Primer and providing issue recaps of the current series with Zoe Tunnell. @karen_xmenfan on Twitter
Check out my interview with Kieron Gillen, currrent Eternals series writer here-- https://bit.ly/KGtheEternals
"Engaging with my demonic sea-monster tendencies has made me a lot healthier just as a dude" - Jude Doyle.
I'm joined by award-winning journalist, opinon writer, comics fan--now horror comic author Jude Ellison S. Doyle to talk about his new series Maw.
A provocative five-issue horror series by Doyle (Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power) and artist A.L. Kaplan (Full Spectrum Therapy) that explores the anger of women trapped by society’s expectations and the reclamation of power through collective rage. Published by BOOM! Studios.
Jude Doyle is the author of two books of non-fiction: Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear... and Why and Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy and the Fear of Female Power, which was named a Best Non-Fiction Book of 2019 by Kirkus Reviews and was shortlisted for Starburst Magazine’s Brave New Words award. Jude also founded the feminist blog Tiger Beatdown in 2008, led several successful social media awareness campaigns, and currently writes a weekly column at Medium. Maw is his first comic book.
I'm a huge fan of his newsletter -- https://judedoyle.medium.com/
and https://twitter.com/sadydoyle
"We’re ALL ambassadors." - RafaelShimunov.
Artist and organizer Rafael Shimunov’s family ofBukharian Jewishrefugees from Uzbekistan learned English by watching Star Trek. Raf’s read on Worf as a fellow Jew of color is eye opening. We talk all things Worf, but especially about his depiction as a Jewish person of color, directly within Star Trek’s coding of his background and metaphorically as an individual who finds meaning in his multiple identities.
We answer listener questions on everything from Worf and Orthodox religious identity to his success with the ladies and his post Deep Space Nine future. And how Klingon has more in common with Jewish languages than you might think.
Follow Raf’s twitter: https://twitter.com/rafaelshimunov
And for more Jewish Leftism check out the organization Elana and Raf are on the steering committe of, https://twitter.com/theJewishVote.
DC comics new Jewish teen girl superhero and activist is fighting to save a VERY Lower East Side Gotham neighborhood from gentrification. Of course I had to have the co-creator of this new character, Whistle, on my podcast-- New York Times Best Selling author E. Lockhart!
Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero, is a young adult graphic novel from DC written by New York Times best-selling author E. Lockhart (Genuine Fraud, We Were Liars) with art by Manuel Preitano (The Oracle Code). Featuring the debut and origin story of a brand new hero, Whistle takes a closer look at the daily life of Gotham teen Willow Zimmerman and her dog Lebowitz in the unexplored neighborhood of Down River.
Follow E. Lockhart on twitter- https://twitter.com/elockhart and her website http://www.emilylockhart.com/
If Corto Maltese is Cuba is Starro is the Embargo? Or is it Nicaragua and Project Starfish is the CIA drug smuggling?
Join journalists / DC comics nerds Spencer Ackerman (Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump) and Arturo Garcia (TruthOrFiction) as we talk about James Gunn's new uber violent political satire movie based on some of my favorite comics.
Buy Spencer's book Reign of Terror and follow him at https://twitter.com/attackerman
Keep up with Arturo's reporting and upcoming radio network via https://twitter.com/aboynamedart
and me at https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn
"Every woman we meet in this story has been sterilized without consent." - Moji Alawode-El
"When they can make choices they choose compassion" - Kat Green
Two professional feminists who are basically superheroes themselves join me to discuss Marvel's Black Widow movie. We talk espionage, fight choreo, reproductive justice and a good jumpsuit.
Kat Green is the Managing Director and Chief Mechanic at Abortion Access Front. Before joining AAF, Kat worked as a producer, editor, and shooter for film and TV productions around the world. Somewhere along the way, she also designed databases, built a spaceship in her basement, and learned to drive a truck with air brakes.
Moji Alawode-El is a recovered ad exec and current Marketing Manager at AAF. She loves yoga, reading sci-fi by femme people & people of color, roller skates and talking really loudly about her abortion and everyone else's reproductive rights in public spaces.
Learn more about Abortion Access Front https://www.aafront.org/
We love Keiko and Miles so much that we're sending them to fictional couples counseling.
Joining us is Scott Thorough, a lifelong Trekkie with a Masters in Social Work. Scott did his internships for social work school with narrative focus. He's the perfect guest to join us to determine if the O'Briens' marriage can or should be saved.
Scott is also the co-host of the excellent Zebras in America Podcast https://twitter.com/ZebrasPod.
Keep up with Scott's podcast and music here https://twitter.com/Scott_Thorough
Catch up on past episodes of Deep Space Dive with this playlist - https://bit.ly/playDeepSpace
"Being a Black fan means loving media that doesn’t necessarily love you back" -- writer Evan Narcisse.
Evan joins me to talk about his new comic about the groundbreaking and radicaly fun wrestling stars, New Day, race, creativity and change in the wrestling industry as well as his work on Rise of the Black Panther. No wrestling knowledge necessary for this episode.
Evan Narcisse is a writer and consultant who works in video games, comic books, and TV, often focusing on the intersection of blackness and pop culture. He was a journalist and critic for many years, having previously written for The Atlantic, Time Magazine, Kotaku, io9, and The New York Times. He’s taught a course on video game journalism at New York University and appeared as an expert guest on CNN and NPR. He's the author of the Rise of the Black Panther graphic novel for Marvel Comics and served as a narrative design consultant on the upcoming Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales video game. A native New Yorker, he now lives in Austin, Texas. https://twitter.com/evnarc
THE Julia Serano explains why Loki and Sylvie have no time for your gender essentialism, Tea Fougner delves into Loki's gender fluidity in comics and we all wish the queer showrunner would stick around another season.
Julia Serano is an Oakland, California-based writer, performer, biologist, and activist. She is best known for her nonfiction books Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity and Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive. Julia’s first foray into fiction, entitled 99 Erics: a Kat Cataclysm faux novel, won the Publishing Triangle’s 2021 Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction, and was an Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY) 2021 silver medalist in LGBT+ Fiction.
Julia's Loki essay https://twitter.com/JuliaSerano/status/1413186947862859776
Tea Fougner is the Editorial Director for Comics at King Features Syndicate. When she’s not reading comics for work, she’s reading comics for fun, drawing comics, dressing up as comic book characters, or watching comic adaptations on television. https://twitter.com/teaberryblue
"After a year worrying about Marvel emailing me from their legal team with a cease and disist — I get an email from Marvel asking me to write a story for an upcoming comic!" - Stephanie Williams
Stephanie Williams is a comics historian and pop culture critic for notable publications such as SYFYFANGRRLS, Marvel, The A.V. Club, Nerdist, Den of Geek, and Rotten Tomatoes. She is currently a content producer for What To Watch. Stephanie is also a comic creator with three ongoing webcomics, Parenthood Activate!, But What If Though?, and Living Heroes. She made her Marvel debut with a short story featuring Monica Rambeau in Marvel’s Voices: Legacy.-
Follow her https://twitter.com/Steph_I_Will and find her work here https://linktr.ee/swilliamscreates
This podcast was recorded in March, sorry for the delay! Her WandaVision analysis is just as valid now as ever and her Wonder Woman comic will be out sooner now.
"As a boundary defying human I found myself looking for ways to engage with the stories that made me feel alive. When I watched a superhero movie or read Octavia Butler I was talking about real things in a way that felt more fruitful" - S.E. Fleenor, writer/editor/podcaster.
S.E. Fleenor joins us to talk about the queer speculative fiction anthology they co-created for Pride Month, http://DecodedPride.com. Decoded is a story-a-day anthology of queer science fiction, fantasy, and horror by queer authors. A short story or comic is released to subscribers every day of Pride month.
S.E. co-hosts Bitches on Comics https://bitchesoncomics.com/, a pop culture and comics podcast, and is an editor of Decoded Pride and http://QueerSpec.com. They are also managing editor of Bella Media Channel. They write fiction (podcasts, novels, and short stories), personal essays, and articles centering on queer identities, feminism, pop culture, and literature. Their work appears in The Independent, Buzzfeed Reader, Vice, and http://them.us, among others. They consider themself to be professionally, queer, trans, and nonbinary.
S.E. and I delve into the current state of Queer Discorse around creating indepdent art, consuming corporate media, and telling trans stories.
My guest appearance on their podcast is one of my favorite guest appearances on someone else's show. You can listen here https://bitchesoncomics.com/episode-14-a-quintessential-jewish-experience-of-christmas/
“One of the goals of Renegade Rule was to present a book and world that allows for queer joy” - Ben Kahn
“The closer it is to trope-y fan fiction the more I like it” - Rachel Silverstein
Meet the writers of a new original graphic novel published by Dark Horse, Renegade Rule!
"The Manhattan Mist have beaten the odds to land themselves in the national championships for Renegade Rule, one of the hottest virtual reality games in existence. But they’re in for competition fiercer then they ever imagined, and one team member’s entire future could be at stake. Four queer female friends will have to play harder than ever against self-doubt, infighting, romantic distraction, and a slew of other world-class teams if they hope to become champions.
From Ignatz-nominated writer Ben Kahn, debut author Rachel Silverstein, and artist Sam Beck is a celebration of friendship, competition, queer identity, and the insane things we do for the things and people we love."
Rachel Silverstein is a recent law school graduate. Renegade Rule is her first comic book publication. She also has a Master’s degree in elephant paleontology. https://twitter.com/flirtymango
Ben Kahn is an Ignatz Award-nominated comics writer. Their previous works include the comics series Heavenly Blues (Scout Comics) and Gryffen: Galaxy’s Most Wanted (SBI Press). They can usually be found shuttered away in their shoebox-sized New York apartment, afraid to leave the city. https://twitter.com/BenTheKahn
Check out Ben's horror podcast: Progressively Horrified https://progressivelyhorrified.transistor.fm/
Hear Ben on my podcast to talk about their earlier comics writing: http://bit.ly/grifBee
On Doom Patrol S2 http://bit.ly/DoomPatrolgp
& Young Justice S3 http://bit.ly/YJoutsiders
Policing and the model minoirty myth are deconstructed through a noir genre lens in this hardboiled detective series created by today's guests, sak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefenkgi.
A new Image Comics series, The Good Asian stars detective Edison Hark—a haunted Chinese-American detective—on the trail of a killer in 1936 San Francisco's Chinatown. The series explores Chinese American identity, US immigration policy and the brutal contradictions inherent in being the first Chinese American cop when the target of his policing is inevitably his own community. It's also a beautifully drawn piece of historical fiction and an exciting mystery.
My guests are:
sak Pichetshote is a writer for comics and TV. He wrote the critically acclaimed horror comic hit INFIDEL that was featured on NPR's best horror stories of all time. In TV, he's written for the shows Marvel's Cloak & Dagger, Light as a Feather, and Two Sentence Horror Stories.
Alexandre Tefenkgi is the acclaimed artist of European comics and graphic albums as well as the critically acclaimed Skybound book Outpost Zero by Sean McKeever. Born in Africa and raised in France, he's an artist of Vietnamese descent.
The series' colorist is Lee Loughridge and letterer is Jeff Powell.
Learn more here https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/the-good-asian
"Zemo is the only character with an ideology" - Brandon Wilson
"A real Captain America looks to the rest of the world like The Joker" - Spencer Ackerman
Talking about Disney's latest Marvel TV show, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier with two of my favorite Marvel experts.
Spencer Ackerman award winning national security journalist and author of REIGN OF TERROR: How The 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump, out August 10 from Viking. https://twitter.com/attackerman
Brandon Wilson is a filmmaker and lecturer. Brandon has directed two micro-budget features: 2005’s The Man Who Couldn’t… which is on YouTube and Sepulveda from 2016 which is streaming for free on Vimeo. Wilson has taught Film Analysis for Filmmakers, Introduction to Editing and classes on national cinemas, the essay film, and diversity in cinema at UCLA, Columbia College Hollywood and others. https://twitter.com/geniusbastard
And your host, Elana Levin is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn.
Doctor Julian Bashir is Deep Space Nine’s resident physician, humanitarian, James Bond cosplayer and disaster bisexual. We are joined by Ali Nagib, Assistant Director of Illinois NORML, an organization that was key to ending cannabis prohibition in Illinois. In this episode, Ali helps us discover why Dr. Bashir was so important for representation, why he’s such a headcanon magnet, why he’s a great role model for health equity activism efforts like cannabis legalization, and why he’s the Anti-Bones McCoy.
Catch up on our past episodes of Deep Space Dive with this playlist- https://soundcloud.com/graphicpolicy/sets/deep-space-dive
Email us questions-- via deepspacedivepodcast@gmail.com
Or catch us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn & https://twitter.com/pas_deChat
Traumatized people processing loss by watching TV sure do connect with a TV show in which a traumatized person processes loss via the medium of television. Disney+ newest Marvel TV show is a timely hit. I'm joined by three fascinating guests for a nuanced and necessary conversation.
"When someone tells a Black woman she’s not supposed to be there it goes from being uncomfortable to being dangerous" - comics critic Niki J.
Occasional voice actress and constant Marvel fan, Niki J posts about comics and queer issues at @blackloislane on Twitter. In her free time she's helped organize panels for Geeks OUT's annual queer comics celebration, Flame Con.
"This was my entire childhood flashing before me"-- Asya Pikovsky is a communications consultant for grassroots and worker advocacy organizations. When she was four, she immigrated to the US with her family as Jewish refugees from the former Soviet Union. She also compares Wanda to the FBI...
Diana Hussein is a Detroit-based Communications Specialist for the hospitality workers' labor union, UNITE HERE. She's one of my favorite union voices on Twitter: https://twitter.com/heyadiana. and has a lot to say about the MCU and Arab American fandom.
"Realism is unfortunate"- Michel Fiffe
Michel Fiffe is the creator / writer /artist of the action series COPRA. He’s worked with Marvel and DC on top of fully producing Panorama for Dark Horse, Bloodstrike: Brutalists for Image Comics and Zegas for Fantagraphics.
We talk about the development of comics art styles in depth and a graph he made attempting to chart where some of his favorite artists' style fall on a scale of realistic to cartoony, messy to clean. So get artsy with us!
"It's a comic, take a risk, do something different"
“Go to a museum, open up a fashion magazine, watch a documentary on Klaus Nomi. Do anything but look at a comic book for inspiration. That’s what Kirby did!”
"The 90s isn’t just Jim Lee"
His interivew of artist Trevor Von Eeden http://www.tcj.com/an-interview-with-trevor-von-eeden-reprise/
https://twitter.com/MichelFiffe
"I'm not damning Stan Lee, I'm living with ambiguity" says Abraham Riesman of his essential new Stan Lee biography True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee. No matter where you stand on the debate of who gets credit for Marvel comics, you MUST read this book.
It's past time for a serious work of history like this one examining the conflicting stories behind one of most imporant cultural forces of the 20th century. Abe has done completely new research into the Lieber familiy's history in Romania and the Romanian Jewish mileiu of Stan's youth. He's interviewed the journalists who wrote key pieces around Stan's life and times at Marvel. He's gotten everyone to talk, from Stan's brother (cartoonist Larry Lieber) to the vultures who plagued Stan at the end of his life.
Abraham Riesman is a journalist whose work has appeared in Vulture, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, The Boston Globe, and many other outlets. He is the author of TRUE BELIEVER: THE RISE AND FALL OF STAN LEE and the forthcoming RINGMASTER: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF VINCE MCMAHON. He lives in Rhode Island with his partner, the journalist SI Rosenbaum. His website is abrahamriesman.com and his Twitter handle is @abrahamjoseph.
For more from me on Stan Lee, listen to my episode with journalist Spencer Ackermen upon Lee's death: https://graphicpolicy.com/2018/11/23/stan-lee-politics-and-business-with-spencer-ackerman-listen-to-the-podcast-on-demand-and-on-the-go/
DS9 premiered at the height of third wave feminism. In this episode, we’ll look at how Star Trek Deep Space Nine incorporated feminist thought of the ‘90s into its depictions of women and gender. Also, how that explains why Major Kira is always wearing a full face of makeup even when she’s roaming caves with a phaser rifle. And how the real villian isn't just the Dominion, it's Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Got questions? Recommendations? Deep Space Dive now has our own email address: DeepSpaceDivePodcast at gmail!
and soon we will have our own RSS, I promise.
Follow hosts: Elana Levin https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn
and
Dr. Sarah Daniel Rasher https://twitter.com/pas_deChat
How are The Celestials and The Eternals like Diana Ross & The Supremes? Find out as Kieron Gillen (obviously) returns to discuss his new series for Marvel Comics, a relaunch of The Eternals, in which he and artist Esad Ribić interpret Jack Kirby's classic "powerchord of a visual". We follow up with his critically aclaimed re-imagining of Peter Cannon Thunderbolt as well as his current indie series Once and Future, which polliticizes Arthurian legends in powerful new ways.
Plus, catch up on Die Comic's success as an RPG and RPG's in general during COVID.
Also Black Sabbath.
Play Gillen's new RPG for going on a socialy distanced walk kierongillen.itch.io/amble
Subscribe to Gillen's newsletter: https://kierongillen.substack.com/p/180-you-know-what-we-need-a-vampiro
Listen to my 2018 conversation with Gillen and Die artist /co-creator Stephanie Hans http://bit.ly/DieGPpod
and The Wicked + The Divine and Young Avengers back in 2016 http://bit.ly/kieronG
X-Pert podcaster Jay Edidin wrote his 1st Marvel comic X-Men: Marvels Snapshots, and I love it! So of course I had him on my show to talk about the obvious topics like DC Comics, Victorian Literature, and Fun Home.
And yes, of course, his take on Cyclops in this highly personal yet accessible comic.
You can hear Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-men at https://www.xplainthexmen.com/ and read his tweets at https://twitter.com/NotLasers.
He's been on Graphic Policy Radio before to talk about stopping harassment and abuse in the comics industry: https://bit.ly/cmxjustice
and Punisher Season 2, http://bit.ly/Punish2
Rom quotes Karl Marx and organizes a labor union at Quark's Bar-- of course this merits a full episode of our new DS9 podcast. Join our guest, labor unionist & Trekkie Asher Huey for a close look at Bar Association, Season 4 episode 9.
This is the second episode of our podcast spin-off series, "Deep Space Dive" a Deep Space Nine podcast hosted by Elana Levin and Sarah Daniel Rasher.
In each episode we do a deep dive into the text and subtext of this most political of Star Trek series, often with expert guests like the one we had today. Asher Heuy is the digital director of the American Federation of Teachers. Startrek.com profiled this activism and love of Star Trek in 2019. You can follow him: https://twitter.com/asherhuey
Follow Deep Space Dive's hosts - https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn and https://twitter.com/pas_deChat. Send us your DS9 Questions! Or your questions about unionizing your workplace!
We'll be launching a new RSS just for Deep Space Dive episodes soon. -- thank you for your pateince, comics folks who aren't Trekkies. We haven't forgotten about you! I've got some huge comics guests coming shortly.
"I reverse engineered Mark Trail"-- Jules Rivera is the new cartoonist for the classic syndicated comicstrip Mark Trail. You know, the nature guy in the plaid! Jules gives Mark Trail a look and a new environmetal justice spin on his LONG STANDING mission of conservation education. Plus a diverse cast for soap opera hijinks and humor.
Jules is the second Latina woman to become a nationally syndicated comic strip cartoonist. Jules brings her background in engineering and lifelong interest in nature and the environment to Mark's adventures.
You can read Mark Trail every day FOR FREE: https://www.comicskingdom.com/mark-trail or ask for it in your local paper.
And follow Jules Rivera. https://twitter.com/julesrivera
DS9 is the Star Trek with the greatest focus on political concepts like colonialism, feminism, queerness and post-scarcity economics. Join hosts and guests who aren’t just Trekkies but activists, academics, artists, therapists and more as we do a deep dive into the text and subtext where few Star Trek podcasts have gone before.
We're discussing Deep Space Nine’s themes and characters-- not doing recaps. Also: spoilers.
Co-Hosts:
Elana Levin, also the host of Graphic Policy Radio, has worked at the intersection of comics, nerd culture and social change for over a decade. Biggest Trek cred? Giving a speech on fan activism at a rally organized by Leeta/Chase Masterson.
When not getting paid to use math to save the world, Sarah Daniel Rasher writes about film and figure skating. They were the founding Captain of their high school Star Trek club and once got Nicole De Boer to kiss them at a convention.
Episode 1:
Garak: All The Boys Think He’s a Spy
Is he a spy? Is he evil? Is he dating Bashir? One thing’s for sure, he’s everyone’s favorite character.
"If you can do comedy you can do horror"- writter and letterer Alex de Campi returns to the show to talk about her latest comics Vintage pulp horror graphic novel Dracula, Motherf**ker (Image Comics) with Erica HendersonSci-fi thriller Madi: Once Upon A Time in the Future co-written by filmmaker Duncan JonesVeteran action/buddy comedy Bad Karma -- read it online http://panelsyndicate.com/comics/badkarma True War Stories, an anthology of soldiers’ deployment tales by soldiers themselves. Follow Alex on twitter: https://twitter.com/alexdecampi
Elana's review of Bad Karma: https://graphicpolicy.com/2020/10/01/bad-karma-1-2-and-3-action-feelings-and-forgiveness/
IGNORE ME at your perril! Professor Steven Attewell and I, (Elana Levin) walk you through one of the most quotable episodes of The Venture Bros show. We're here to help you understand the history, context and pop culture references within. From the most important chair of the mid 20th century to the 1991 MTV Music Video Awards (that was a wierd one indeed).
3rd image our slide show is Arishem the Judge by Jack Kirby-- a massive inspiration for The Grand Inquisitor.
Follow Steven here: https://twitter.com/StevenAttewell
and me: https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn
In 1989 Daredevil's Inferno storyline from Ann Nocenti and John Romita Jr offered some pointed social commentary about NYC. It's return in Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto & Mattia Iacono's current series made for some uncanny reading for New Yorkers today.
Join Leslie Lee III of Struggle Sessions podcast & Scott Thorough of Zebras in America podcast as we swing into;
Classic Daredevil #260-266
Current Daredevil issues #18-20
Also discussed: Scott's lived experience of Hells Kitchen in the 1990sLeslie on how the comics misunderstand the role cops play in gentrification"Matt Murdock’s super power is Catholic guilt"- ScottPlease tell your Fox watching Grandpa that New York is not on fireTyphoid Mary's character design is still hotThey made Stiltman scaryand as always, Matt Murdock is the worst boyfriend in comics
November isn't just the election it's also the hit hardboiled graphic novel series from Elsa Charretier and Matt Fraction. A special commentary edition of the book is on it's way and Elsa has the scoop! Fraction and I also chatted about Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, his series with Steve Lieber- and there are some interesting connections between the two very different works!
Support the massively popular kickstarter for the November art book here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/elsacharretier/elsa-charretiers-artbook-2020
If you missed my episode with Elsa this Spring definitely give it a listen for her amazing, and inspiring origin story as an artist https://bit.ly/GPRelsa
For more Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen check out my interview with artist Steve Lieber. https://bit.ly/SuperPal
and review: https://www.comicsbeat.com/review-jimmy-olsen-1/
and if you are looking for ways to volunteer around the election or want to share show feedback I'm on twitter https://twitter.com/elana_Brooklyn
Tabletop roleplaying games are a hot social activity. Many have played for decades, but some have always wanted to try but haven't found a group to join yet. This episode features a diverse crew of TTRPG experts answering your questions on everything from how to get started, how to make your games more inclusive, how to adapt your offline games to online AND recommend awesome games you haven't heard of yet (those may involve neither dungeons nor dragons).
Jess Ross is an editor, writer, and podcaster. She plays D&D with the d20 Dames, a family-friendly actual play podcast https://d20dames.com/ You can find all of Jess’ writing on their website http://writejess.com
Mike Kelly is a cohost of the One Shot Test Kitchen podcast https://anchor.fm/one-shot-test-kitchen, which is a real-play podcast of different indie pen-and-paper RPGs. He is a game designer/writer and public speaker about games based out of Brooklyn
April-Lyn Caouette is a cohost of the One Shot Test Kitchen. She's a cofounder / Chief Resource Nerd at Love Thy Nerd, a nerd culture ministry that exists to love and serve their nerdy neighbors through thoughtful content, intentional community, and relational outreach. lovethynerd.com.
http://www.onesevendesign.com/laserfeelings/
https://warhorn.net/events/pasadena
http://goldenlassogames.com/tools
“disrupting the idea of superhero vs super villains and more about what happens within any community”-- Music critic Matt Perpetua is writing about X-Men comics on his new site https://www.houseofx.org. He is also the sole writer of the independent music site Fluxblog since 2002, more recently expanding beyond the site itself to playlist curation on Spotify. In addition to the site, has also contributed to Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, NPR, and New York Magazine, and was the founding editor of BuzzFeed Music.
Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/perpetua
His music blog http://www.fluxblog.org/ is a must read for anyone who loves music criticism.
For Matt's educational and electrifying playlists visit: https://open.spotify.com/user/123059001
Here's the Industrial one we spoke about: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/78IIa57I7SnB4AWrDsMtXH
Our critically aclaimed coverage of Doom Patrol--DC Universe's critically acclaimed show--continues with this episode on Season 2.
Joining me are guests:
Sarah Daniel Rasher is an erstwhile professor of Shakespeareology who now tries to save the world through educational data. They also occasionally write about figure skating and Star Trek on the internet.
Winn Periyasamy is a Fordham law student and advocate working and organizing in New York City. She has her master's in public health and her writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Nation, and more. You can follow Winn at @wperiyasamy
Here's the essay on Cyborg I recommended https://themiddlespaces.com/2015/03/31/humanity-not-included/
"I’m so thankful that my job is to sell people art." - John Arminio, Comix Connection.
Guest John Arminio shares what it is like working at a comics store during this unprecidented time and how fans can support comics retail staff. Plus he makes some great suggestions of comics to buy.
John is a long-time comic book devotee and retailer who peddles his wares at Comix Connection in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Along with comics, another of his great passions is film, and you can hear him discuss that artistic medium on recent episodes of the podcasts Hellbent for Horror, Film '89, and 26 Movies from Hell.
John has joined Graphic Policy Radio before to talk about:
Doom Patrol http://bit.ly/DoomPatrolgp
Secret Six http://bit.ly/Secret6fix
The Best Comics of 2019 http://bit.ly/2019comics
Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/QuasarSniffer
Visit the Comix Connection here: https://www.facebook.com/comix.connection/
Comics' harassment crisis isn't just caused by the names you've seen in the comics news. It is enabled by an entire system of employment and fandom built on exploitation. Good thing there are some brilliant and brave people joining me to talk about what we can to do create meaningful change in the industry.
Guests:
Jay Edidin writes comics, short fiction, and narrative nonfiction; covers culture, arts, science, and gender as a journalist and essayist; edits comics, transmedia, and genre fiction; and is half of the podcast Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men. Jay was named ComicBook .com 2017 Comics Person of the Year for his investigative coverage of harassment issues at D.C. Comics and his work to foster diversity and inclusion in comics culture.
Joan Hilty is a comics editor who came up in the 90s queer comics scene as a cartoonist, then had a 15-year editorial run at DC Comics/Vertigo, and now works with many of the Top 10 comics publishers in licensed publishing at Nickelodeon. She’s taught at Maryland Institute College of Art and is currently on the Cartooning faculty at School of Visual Arts. In 2014 she wrote about her experience with harassment in the industry for the Guardian, which was later a part of Jay’s Buzzfeed reporting leading to the ouster of a top editor at DC.
Kwanza Osajyefo: Author and creator of BLACK, a comic that asks: what if only black people had superpowers. Kwanza has been a part of the comics for nearly 20 years. Beginning his career as an online producer at Marvel before moving into other media roles. He later returned to comics and launched DC Comics' digital publishing initiatives.
Referenced:
https://www.somanyofus.com/ : a website created by people targeted and manipulated by Warren Ellis.
Tina Horn is the creator and writer of the sci-fi sex-rebel comic book series SfSx (Safe Sex). She hosts and produces the long-running kink podcast Why Are People Into That?!.
SfSx is the near-future story of the underground queer sex workers known as the Dirty Mind, who use their powers of bondage and intrigue to free their incarcerated friends and fight the power! SfSx: Volume 1: Protection is out now in trade paperback.
Tina's reporting on sexual subcultures and politics has been in Playboy, Rolling Stone and more; she is the author of two nonfiction books and has contributed to numerous anthologies including the queer horror collection Theater of Terror and the feminist essay collection Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World. Tina has lectured on sex worker politics and queer BDSM identities at universities and community centers all over North America, and works as an on-set consultant for theater and television including the dominatrix scenes of Pose. She is a LAMBDA Literary Fellow, the recipient of two Feminist Awards, and holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from Sarah Lawrence. Tina is currently working on her first scripts for film and television. You can follower her on Twitter and Instagram https://twitter.com/tinahornsass her podcast: https://tinahorn.net/podcast/
"I want to show that the people behind the desk can look like me, "-- Cristina ‘Steenz’ Stewart is a St. Louis based cartoonist, editor, and professor. She's the cartoonist on the syndicated comic strip ‘Heart Of The City’, the co-creator of Dwayne McDuffie Award winning Graphic Novel Archival Quality, and is featured in short story anthologies such as Eisner and Ignatz Award-Winning Elements: Fire, Mine!, and Dead Beats. Steenz launched and edited the popular RPG periodical Rolled & Told. She participates in and creates community building comics related programming, and is a frequent panelist at comic cons. Steenz currently teaches cartooning at Webster University while editing titles from Mad Cave Studios.
She's https://www.oheysteenz.com/ and https://twitter.com/oheysteenz
From getting a Marvel internship out of spite to getting her own dream project graphic novel underway.
Nadia Shammas is an Arab-American comic writer and native Brooklynite. She's best known for being the creator of CORPUS: A Comic Anthology of Bodily Ailments and the author/co-creator of SQUIRE, a YA Middle Eastern fantasy set from HarperCollins next year. You can find her and her movie takes on https://twitter.com/Nadia_Shammas
Join us as we we get real about feelings about health, art and capitlism. Also goth.
PS here's the GP radio episode about workplace harassment in the comics industtry that I referenced in my added intro: https://bit.ly/comicsworklawyer
Lux Alptraum is a Peabody-nominated producer and writer whose work had appeared in The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, and Hustler. Her first book, Faking It: The Lies Women Tell About Sex — And the Truths They Reveal, explores our cultural obsession with feminine deceit. https://twitter.com/luxalptraum
Mey Rude is a Los Angeles-based trans latina lesbian. she’s a journalist who’s worked for autostraddle, them.us and out magazine, as well as a sensitivity reader and trans consultant on novels, comics, tv shows, and video games. she’s consulted on titles like Lumberjanes, Bitch Planet, and Cosmokights and is obsessed with queer representation in media. https://twitter.com/meyrude
MUST read
"Do We Need the Police? ‘Steven Universe’ and ‘She-Ra’ Suggest We Don’t" https://collider.com/abolish-the-police-steven-universe-she-ra/ by Tahir Duckett
Kitty Pryde, sorry, I mean Kate Pryde, is coming out! She's stealing a boat, getting drunk on Wolverine’s stash and becoming a pirate/liberator of mutants everywhere. Join us for a deep dive into Marauders issues 1-9 from Gerry Duggan, Matteo Lolli, Stephano Casseli, Michelle Bandini and others.
X-Perts:
Chingy L Gay is a writer, comedian, and critically acclaimed ex-girlfriend. She writes about queer identity, nerd shit, and her weird sex life and has been featured at MTV News, Out Magazine, Jezebel, Autostraddle and Kotaku. https://twitter.com/TheGayChingy
Dani Kinney is a Sensitivity Reader at Salt & Sage Books, a Trans & Intersex Educator and Policy Consult. They're also a writer at Graphic Policy and Women Write About Comics where they've authored works such as "Hold Fast: Marauders and the Anti-Fascist Model", "New Intersections: Krakoa and the Queer Body Politic", and " Subterranean Mutant Semiotics: Morlocks, X-Factor, and the Privilege of Passing". And yes they know they take the mutant metaphor a little too seriously. https://twitter.com/sjw_LauraKinney
Elsa Charretier joins us from the south of France to talk about her latest comic, the noir tale November with Matt Fraction. Elsa is a self taught artist known for co-creating the award winning scifi romance The Infinite Loop with writer Pierrick Colinet. Since then, she has been dividing her time between creating new creator-owned books (Superfreaks) and drawing established characters like The Unstopable Wasp, Starfire, DC's Bombshells and Star Wars' most fashionable depiction of Admiral Holdo.
Volume 2 of Novemeber will be out June 2nd.
Follow her online: https://twitter.com/e_charretier
Interview with comics artist/writer Jerry Ordway continues! Jerry's been making superhero comics for DC and Marvel for 40 years. He's the guy who made people care about Shazam and the All Star Squadron again. He inked Crisis on Infinate Earths. He's partnered with writers like Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Michael Moorecock & Neil Gaiman. His essay on age discriminiation in the industry put a name to a significant problem in comics http://ordstersrandomthoughts.blogspot.com/2013/03/life-over-fifty.html
In part two of our interview we talk about why we love hand lettering, the nightmare of Superman continuity, how he approached his groundbreaking graphic novel The Power of Shazam, on working with Michael Moorecock on Tom Strong, Warren Ellis on Planetary and creating a Loki story for Neil Gaiman's Norse mythology book!
Whether you're new to Jerry's work or a long time fan you'll learn a ton about the process of inking and drawing comics (traditional and digital), industry history, Alan Moore anecdotes and why he actually likes drawing boats and buildings (and how he does it so darn elegantly).
Comics artist/writer Jerry Ordway has been making superhero comics for DC and Marvel for 40 years. He's the guy who made people care about Shazam and the Justice Society of America again. He inked Crisis on Infinate Earths. He's partnered with writers like Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Michael Moorecock & Neil Gaiman.
Welcome to a special two part interview. Whether you're new to Jerry's work or a long time fan you'll learn a ton about the process of inking and drawing comics, industry history, the secret workings of Letter Columns--and why Jerry tends to avoid name dropping bands in his comics, or drawing Lobo.
In part one we cover the start of his career, what it was like working on the one of the 1st big comics mega events, what makes the JSA tick, how he approaches Shazam and his indie horrorwork Semiautomagic with Alex di Campi.
Follow Jerry on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JerryOrdway
Travel back as we delve into a classic Venture Bros episode: Operation PROM. Thanks for being patient with the podcast right now: I've been slammed with work. I thought I'd make it up to you by covering a Venture Bros episode from Season 4, before we started podcast.
We're here to help you catch all the references to feminist philosophers and 70s rock bands and Marvel comics. And to help you think about all the themes about all the failure, all the nostalgia and all the other stuff that Venture Bros are made of.
I, Elana Levin https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn, am joined by my co-host, Historian/Professor/pop culture nerd Steven Attewell https://twitter.com/StevenAttewell.
If you want more podcast coverage of older episodes of the show, let us know on Twitter which episodes you want us to cover! And stay tunned for more interviews with comics creators next week!
Warren Ellis' Castlevania show for Netflix is about powerful old men who want to bring the world down around them and the OT3 who say "nope" to all that. I'm joined by two critics who know their anime way better than I to talk about the show: Kat Overland is a freelance culture critic and the small press editor at Women Write About comics. Leslie Lee the 3rd is a writer and host of Struggle Session.
We open with a Spoiler-free discussion of if you should watch the show. Answer: yes, there are lesbians. And the Byronic is actually likeable.
Then deep dive into the show: "Sad beautiful men" & "everyone is very tired". "The Moorcock-ian psychedelic space horror in the basement"- https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn"Isaiac is a Conan story" - https://twitter.com/leslieleeiii"Hector is a nihlist yet a woobie" - https://twitter.com/dogunderwaterCarmila’s “I’m With Her” energy Our four vampire wives Demons from Buffy and Battle Angel Warren Ellis is the most atheist of all
The comic strips you grew up with, and your great-grandma grew up with, are probably from King Features Syndicate: a comics syndicate over 100 years old! Tea Fougner is the Editorial Director for Comics at King Features Syndicate and joins us to talk about comics strips past and present.
As Tea says, “Comics is a format, not a genre."
Find out: Which vintage adventure strips will modern readers enjoy?Popeye: OriginsThe kweerness of Krazy KatThe 1970s splenders of Apartment 3GThe Lockhorns are someone’s hip memePopeye on socialism and economic policy“Mandrake the Magician was Doctor Strange before Doctor Strange”How to read King Features comics. Literally.Popeye is compassionate Tea tweets as https://twitter.com/teaberryblue.
V for Vendetta is marching in streets from Catalonia to Hong Kong; a centuries old symbol reinvented in the 1982 graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, and further popularized by the Wachowski Sisters movie of 2005. Even Occupy was almost 10 years ago?! Why has this mask and story lived on in protests? How is V for Vendetta a unique dystopian text?
I'm joined by Ajay Singh Chaudhary PHD, executive director of the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research and Ange Tran, artist and designer working on projects for radical social change.
We discuss how the mask has been an effective tool and why the movie and comics still work for us.
Discussed: Histories of the Guy Fawkes mask"The movie was about Bush the comic is about Thatcher" - https://twitter.com/Elana_BrooklynIf V is passe then what's next for protest garb?"The mask has a story that people understand." - AngeMask as floating signifier “Things become Un-Moore'd from their initial foundations “- AjayMore Frankfurt School social theory than usual, even for this very nerdy podcast. Follow Ajay on twitter https://twitter.com/materialist_jew and Ange Tran is https://twitter.com/angetranland. See more of Ange's work here: http://designwork.online/
Perfectly choreographed fights against sexists who had it coming! Does DC Entertainment's Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey movie keep the spirit of the beloved comics alive? From the comics to the big screen we've got an expert panel:
Nadia Shammas is an Arab-American comic writer and native Brooklynite. She's best known for being the creator of CORPUS: A Comic Anthology of Bodily Ailments and the author/co-creator of SQUIRE, a YA Middle Eastern fantasy set from HarperCollins next year. You can find her and her movie takes on Twitter https://twitter.com/Nadia_Shammas_
Véronique Emma Houxbois is a fiercely queer critic, cartoonist, and consultant hosting Read From the Rafters on YouTube as her drag persona Judith Slays. Named one of SyFy's Most Influential Women in Genre 2017, her credits include Love is Love for IDW/DC, Critical Chips Volume 2 for Shortbox, and Called into Being: 200 Years of Frankenstein. https://twitter.com/EmmaHouxbois
Sara Century is a writer of short stories, articles about comics and film, and many, many zines. She is an artist, comic creator and filmmaker as well as co-host of the weekly podcast Bitches on Comics. https://twitter.com/saracentury
Join us for: New Yorkers' opinions on Harley’s accent & parking in Gotham “Disaster capitalism, Spirit Halloween costume” Emma on some of Harley’s prior unfortunate looksA chaotic neutral Batman and Robin Asking for more explicit conversation about why cops are pigsHow I define Harley's real super power
Victor Luckerson is writing a book about Tulsa's Black Wall Street, which was highlighted by HBO's Watchmen series. Felicia Perez is the Innovation Director at the Center for Story-based Strategy. We team up to look at the real history and current politics behind the most 2019 of HBO shows. Also, check out Victor's essay in the New Yorker: The Great Achievement of Watchmen is Showing How Black Americans Shape History: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-great-achievement-of-watchmen-is-in-showing-how-black-americans-shape-history.
Discussed: Lady Trieu is BatmanWhy it took me so long to cover this show (partially Alan Moore)The power and danger of NostalgiaAmerica’s messed-up relationship with historyThe problem with conspiraciesOhhhhhklahoma! (is not OK)and of course, the actual comics. Victor Luckerson: https://twitter.com/vluck and newsletter runitback.substack.com.
Felicia Perez https://www.facebook.com/luchasflixpicks/ and https://twitter.com/socalluchador
and me, send me feedback! https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn
New York Times Opinion columnist Jamelle Bouie and Spencer Ackerman, Daily Beast National Security Reporter, join me to talk about the new X-Men series, the ideology of Krakoa and more: “Magneto as Lenin” Jamelle Bouie “This is The X-Men that I have always dreamed of existing, in my soul”- Spencer AckermanWhat does the Mutant Liberation Front really mean?Pan Africanism, not Zionism "Based on my friends fighting between Bernie and Warren there should be a lot more fighting between being a Magneto guy vs being a Scott Summers guy." -- me, @Elana_BrooklynThe utterly perfect X-Men #4
Our roundtable of historians, cultural critics and comics bloggers came together for a Martin Luther King Day episode 5 years ago. The world of X-Men and criticism has changed since but our panelists rocked and listeners loved it. So we brought this Classic episode out of the archives. Our guests: Steve Attewell: He is the founder and writer of Race for the Iron Throne and writes People’s History of the Marvel Universe for Graphic Policy. https://twitter.com/StevenAttewellDavid Brothers – David works for a comics publisher, blogs about stuff at 4thletter.net, & tweets about everything at @hermanos. Find his life story at iamdavidbrothers.com.Gene Demby – Gene Demby is an American writer and journalist & the lead blogger for NPR’s Code Switch team.Véronique Emma Houxbois writes Transmyscira column for Comicosity and hosts Read From the Rafters on YouTube as her drag persona Judith Slays. Named one of SyFy's Most Influential Women in Genre 2017. @emmahouxboisKendra James – Is a writer and the Managing Editor of StarTrek.com. https://twitter.com/KendraJames_and me, Elana Levin, host of Graphic Policy Radio https://twitter.com/elana_brooklyn
"BOWIE: Stardust, Rayguns & Moonage Daydreams is a graphic novel from legendary artist Mike Allred and writer Steve Horton. It chronicles the rise of David Bowie’s career from obscurity to fame; paralleled by the rise and fall of his alter ego Ziggy Stardust. As the Spiders from Mars slowly implode, Bowie wrestles with his Ziggy persona. The outcome of this internal conflict will change not only DavidBowie, but also, the world."
I'm joined by the book's writer Steve Horton -- https://twitter.com/tropicalsteve to talk about the making of the graphic novel and our shared love of Bowie (and shared love of artist Mike Allred's work). Whether you're an "Absolute Beginer" on Bowie or already deeply "Loving the Alien" you will get something out of this tremendous book-- and hopefully out of this episode too.
Share your thoughts with me https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn and maybe I'll show you my Bowie tattoo.
What better collapse of the Disney vs auteurism fight then Werner Herzog talking to a Muppet? I'm joined by experts in the show's influences from High Noon to Lone Wolf and Cub. Learn about darksabers and other stuff you missed by not watching the Clone Wars cartoon.
Guests:
Brandon Wilson is a filmmaker and lecturer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he attended UCLA where he took a B.A. in African-American Studies and an M.F.A. from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television. Wilson has directed two micro-budget features: 2005’s The Man Who Couldn’t… which is on YouTube and Sepulveda from 2016 which is streaming for free on Vimeo. Wilson has taught Film Analysis for Filmmakers and Introduction to Editing courses at UCLA. He also teaches at Columbia College Hollywood and Long Beach Community College. In 2020 he’ll begin hosting a monthly cinema salon at The Metaphor Club, a Black-owned workspace and lounge for creatives in Leimert Park. He blogs and has been a guest on several film oriented podcasts. He tweets regularly as https://twitter.com/Geniusbastard
Véronique Emma Houxbois is a fiercely queer critic, cartoonist, and consultant most recently spotted in the Pacific Northwest writing her Transmyscira column for Comicosity and hosting Read From the Rafters on YouTube as her drag persona Judith Slays. Named one of SyFy's Most Influential Women in Genre 2017, her credits include Love is Love for IDW/DC, Critical Chips Volume 2 for Shortbox, and Called into Being: 200 Years of Frankenstein https://twitter.com/EmmaHouxbois
& of course I'm always at https://twitter.com/elana_brooklyn
Experts at pop culture storytelling, social movements and fan organizing joining me to discuss the final Star Wars movie, Rise of Skywalker.
Porshéa Patterson-Hurst is the public opinion research associate for The Opportunity Agenda, a social justice communication lab in New York. She consults with allies in the field to identify and obtain pertinent research needs in the areas of immigration, criminal legal reform, and poverty. She is also the Director of Strategic Partnerships for Black Girls Create, volunteers with the Harry Potter Alliance, and co-hosts CastleBlackPod. https://twitter.com/Porshea_obvi
Rafael Shimunov is an artist and political activist from Queens. He was a HIAS refugee as a child from Russian-dominated Uzbekistan. Shimunov serves on the executive board of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), is a co-founder of The Jewish Vote and has worked with IfNotNow, Michael Moore and The Center for Constitutional Rights. His work has been covered by Rolling Stone, Newsweek, The Washington Post, NowThis News and Haaretz. https://twitter.com/rafaelshimunov
Discussed: Muppets, puppets and metaphorsBabu Frik and the tech worker insurgency“There can be another Snoke in a minute” (thank you Beyonce)Redemption arcs vs Restorative JusticeHow Star Wars' handling of queer rep is like a Bill Clinton speechSpin-offs both real and imagined (and Rogue One, the best Star War)And https://twitter.com/elana_brooklyn quotes the Hagadah like its Passover
4 critics share our favorite comics of the year. We've got all-ages comics any kid will love, comics about Watchmen, comics about sex workers fighting for their rights, comics about Archie vs Predator. Hear which series had the best endings and find out the books we can't wait to read in 2020. You'll leave with a big reading list (or gift list).
Nea aka Chingy L Gay is a writer, comedian, and critically acclaimed ex-girlfriend. She writes about queer identity, nerd shit, and her weird sex life and has been featured at MTV News, Out Magazine, Jezebel, and Autostraddle. https://twitter.com/TheGayChingy
John Arminio is a long-time comic book devotee and retailer who peddles his wares at Comix Connection in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Along with comics, another of his great passions is film, and you can hear him discuss that artistic medium on recent episodes of the podcasts Hellbent for Horror, Film '89, and 26 Movies from Hell. https://twitter.com/QuasarSniffer
Sara Century is a writer of short stories, articles about comics and film, and many, many zines. She is an artist, comic creator and filmmaker as well as cohost of the weekly podcast Bitches on Comics. https://twitter.com/saracentury (Here's the episode of her podcast that I, https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn guested on: https://bitchesoncomics.com/episode-14-a-quintessential-jewish-experience-of-christmas/)
NY City Councilman Ben Kallos https://twitter.com/BenKallos grew up collecting comics, watching anime and reading science fiction as a Manhattan kid. While most of his time is now spent passing progressive reform legislation, getting trashcans installed across his Upper East Side district or taking care of his daughter, he still loves comics and scifi for the powerful stories they tell about the world around us.
Discussed: What's it like running for office as a geek?How an issue of Punisher 2099 changed his lifeThat Marvel Cease and Desist Letter. Being named an official Planeteer and working with Extinction Rebellion to declare a Climate EmergencyDo not dress up as Deadpool in any professional contextSpeaking at AnimeNYC Con-- “Comics are comics and animation is animation regardless of whether it’s in Japanese” Gundum Politics https://benkallos.com/
Creative team Liana Kangas & Joe Corallo discuss their comics merging music, horror & scifi fantasy:
She Said Destroy: The witches of Fey are the last believers of The Morrigan, Goddess of Death, Brigid's sister and the only other God left. As Brigid's forces prepare for one final battle, The Morrigan prepares to do what she does best: Destroy!
Dead Beaths: The Dead Beats music shop is filled with deadly secrets. Run by the mysterious Shoppe Keeper, customers can browse through cursed records, evil sheet music, and instruments of the damned! Our host has dozens of spooky stories to tell you from some of the top names in comics. You’re gonna wanna put on your favorite album when you crack open this anthology.
Joe Corallo is a comics editor who curated and co-edited the Eisner nominated and Ringo Award winning Mine! anthology, edited the GLAAD nominated Oh S#!t It's Kim and Kim as well as the Dead Beats anthology with Eric Palicki. He's also a writer whose work includes writing and co-creating She Said Destroy at Vault Comics.
Liana Kangas co-created and illustrated She Said Destroy and has done artwork for 2000AD, Black Mask Studios, A Wave Blue World, Image and more. Her work is featured in both the 2018 and 2019 Ringo Award winning anthologies; Mine! and Where We Live. She illustrated a story for the Dead Beats anthology written by Eric Palicki. Listen to Liana's Dead Beats play list: http://bit.ly/dpplaylist
Also they got Doom Patrol legends Rachel Pollack, Richard Case and John Workman reunited!
Sarah Horrocks does it all: she draws, writes, inks, letters and self-publishes her own comics and is a damn good critic too. We talk about how she makes comics and geek out about everything from the inks of Kyoko Okazaki to the queerness of Euripides to the inks and colors of Vertigo comics.
Sarah Horrocks is an Eisner-nominated comic artist and critic from Oklahoma. She has done cover work for various Image and Boom Studio projects, as well as comics for anthologies across a spectrum of publications and publishers including the eisner-nominated Twisted Romance from Image Comics. She has written critically for Fantagraphics, ComicsAlliance, Study Group Magazine, and The Comics Journal. She co-hosted the Trash Twins podcast with fellow cartoonist Katie Skelly. Her major comics works include: Dysnomia, Hecate Snake Diaries, The Leopard, Goro, Euripedes’s The Bacchae, and her latest work Aorta. Most of these can be purchased in either print or digital editions through her site: http://Mercurialblonde.squarespace.com.
On: Teaching herself to draw as an adult"If I’d drawn as a teen I would have bene inspired by Rob Liefeld but I started as an adult so it was Guido Crepax and Egon Schiele""People act like transgender was invented on Tumblr 5 years ago. But it’s in the Euripides. It’s in the Bible."Drawing mechs (& getting me to care about them)The power of ink in comicsAmerica isn't ready for EuripidesManga recommendations Self publishing: how & why. Follow Sarah on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mercurialblonde
Mutants talking economic policy at Davos! Cyclops/Wolverine/Jean: a throuple! Is Krakoa Israel or is it a gay bar? Jonathan Hickman leads a relaunch of X-men comics that X-Men fans call #HoXPox. What are the politics of the series? This looks like a job for:
Chingy Le Gay is a writer, comedian, advice columnist, and critically acclaimed ex-girlfriend. Her work focuses on queer dating, pop culture, and her weird sex life and can be found at Out Magazine, Jezebel, Them, and Autostraddle. https://twitter.com/TheGayChingy
Steven Attewell writes about the intersection of history, politics, and pop culture in The People’s History of the Marvel Universe for Graphic Policy, and at https://racefortheironthrone.tumblr.com/ (where he's been covering HoX/PoX issue-by-issue). In his day job, he teaches public policy at CUNY’s School for Labor and Urban Studies. https://twitter.com/StevenAttewell
Also: Comparing AOC and Krakoa"No it's not a cult!"Who gets to tell big stories in comicsMutant Social Reproduction in the Marxist sense & the sexy senseFree All Political Prisoners!"My medication is an endless supply of Charles Xaviers""Emma/Jean is Top for Top" As always, hosted by : https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn
Steven Universe the Movie is Steven Universe The Musical so one of my guests writes musicals: AriDy Nox is a black femme storyteller and social activist with a variety of forward-thinking creative works under her/their belt including the documentary Flawless Feminism, the sci-fi operetta Project Tiresias, and the dark comedy Joy is Dead, as well as others. AriDy creates out of the vehement belief that creating a future in which marginalized peoples are free requires a radical imagination. Ari is a graduate of the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at Tisch School of the Performing Arts at NYU and a beneficiary of the Musical Theater Factory fellowship afrofuturist musical named Metropolis.
Klaudia Amenabar is a social media producer, pop culture critic, and occasional audio fiction voice actor. You may know her from her embarrassing Tumblr URL from high school Elphibia for President of Galifery or because she tweets too much about either Star Wars or Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure As https://twitter.com/kaludiasays.
This is also the episode where https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn compares Steven Universe’s predicament here to Obama ending Organize for America... "You cant fix all your problems with a song!”What happens when you actually decolonize?Antiracism is something you have to do for the rest of your life
WeAreAllOutsiders! I've got the perfect guests talking about the return of DC's beloved animated series, Young Justice Season 3, streaming on DC Universe.
Ahmed Ali Akbar is a writer and host of the show “See Something Say Something.” He has worked as Staff Writer at BuzzFeed and has contributed pieces to Netflix, Catapult, Thrillist, Pushkin Industries, and more. He holds a Masters in Islamic Studies from Harvard Divinity School. https://twitter.com/radbrowndads
Ardo Omer is a critic and freelance writer whose work can be found in The Comics Journal, Women Write About Comics and more. She's the co-host of the Put A Blurb On It podcast, and has two short comics in the Toronto Comics' Osgoode As Gold anthology and the upcoming Wayward Kindred anthology. https://twitter.com/ArdoOmer
Ben Kahn is an Ignatz Award-nominated comics writer. Their previous works include the comics series Heavenly Blues (Scout Comics) and Gryffen: Galaxy’s Most Wanted (SBI Press) https://twitter.com/BenTheKahn
Discussed Young Justice is like being on TwitterJustice Society, "The Original Antifa"Missed opportunities with Halo Halo IS a rebuttal to fascism Superboy learns collective actionThe DCU: Where the UN is really powerful and run by Lex Luthor/Trump“I’m not even mad about Harper Roe?!” https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn
It's bi-week! Time to talk about She-ra and the Princesses of Power. What with all the queer teen heroes, and their queer parents, and their bi-pride flag colored hologram mentors and freedom fighting unicorns. Mey Rude returns for her second dive into the Dreamworks animated series. Mey is a queer, trans and fat Latina living in LA where she works as a trans consultant and a culture and entertainment writer for Out.com. She loves nerds, Judy Hopps and talking about her feelings.
And joining for the first time is Samantha Puc!
Samantha Puc is an essayist and culture critic who frequently writes about LGBTQ and fat characters in fiction. She is the managing editor at The Beat, as well as the co-creator and editor-in-chief of Fatventure Mag, an outdoors zine for fat folx who are into being active, but not into toxic weight-loss culture. She lives in Montana with her partner and cats.
Discussed: Everyone’s dreamgirl HuntaraThe right kind of sympathetic villians"Once Upon a Time in the Waste" is the best episode name everHordak gets a Vader suit---and pathosLooking queer, for the kids! Listen to our coverage of She-ra season 1 (and on spotify, itunes etc etc)
And sign-up for the new she-ra fanzine, Fans for Etheria, that's a fundraiser for RAICES.
Daniel Kibblesmith is an Emmy-Nominated writer for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and the writer of comics like Marvel's "Loki" (2019), "Black Panther Vs. Deadpool" (2018) and others. He's also the author of picture books like "Santa's Husband" (2017) and the upcoming, "Princess Dinosaur" (2020). He was one of the founding editors of ClickHole (2014) and his humor writing can be seen in places like The New Yorker and McSweeney's.
We talk about the differences between writing humor in comics, TV, movies, and Twitter.
Also: The universal appeal of a High School AULoki as a 60 year redemption projectIs Loki immune to woobification?"Like you’re all playing MST3K together but with the entire world"That Low Key t-shirtA hierarchy of 4th wall breaking Check out GraphicPolicy.com for comics news and reviews. And follow @Elana_Brooklyn on Twitter.
Brenden Fletcher is a bestselling writer of comic books and animation. Current projects include the Eisner Award-nominated series ISOLA and MOTOR CRUSH for Image Comics as well as the upcoming ROBOTECH Remix series for Titan. Prevoius work includes: BATGIRL OF BURNSIDE and the YA mystery/adventure series GOTHAM ACADEMY.
Learn: Of the creation of Catball: Nova Honda's cutest robot/cat/ballRobotech already IS a remixCrediting the geniuses behind RobotechMotor Crush Vol 3 goes Terminator (& I'll Be Back)Barbara Gordon fighting gentrificationThe etiquate of fan art about creator owned comicsA possible return for Gotham Academy?Robotech's legacy as a diverse series Listen to our 2015 episode for more from Brenden on his Batgirl, Black Canary and Gotham Academy runs.
Artist Steve Lieber is one of the funniest artists in superhero comics today and his new series with Matt Fraction, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen is wild and wonderful. Steve Lieber's comics have been published by DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, Valiant and many others. He’s known for his work on the Eisner-winning Whiteout, a graphic novel adapted by Warner Brothers as a feature film, and for Superior Foes of Spider-Man, an Eisner-nominated cult favorite. His comic The Fix was named Best New Comic of the Year by IGN.
Steve is also a founding member of Helioscope, the largest studio of comic book artists in North America. http://helioscopepdx.com/ He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Find out: Pro tips on making comics funny-- like how creative paneling will kill a jokeJimmy’s outfits are based on Steve’s lawyerWhat a 10 year old Steve made of the Don Rickles issues of Jimmy Olson by Jack Kirby “Social class is everywhere. If it's not coming out in your pictures I’m not sure what you’re drawing”“Humor theory is always terrible.”"I was trained in the state of the art art of the mid 50s" My review of issue 1 https://www.comicsbeat.com/review-jimmy-olsen-1/
And here's my interview with Steve 3 years back about his series The Fix and going to The Kubert School of Art. https://graphicpolicy.com/2016/05/29/interview-with-the-fix-artist-steve-lieber/
Comics writer/musician Carlos Giffoni joins us to talk about his series Strayed,a sci fi story about the military industrial complex, staring a pet cat, with art by Juan Doe, and Space Riders: Vortex of Darkness with Alexis Ziritt, which is some seriously trippy stuff.
At 14 Carlos began singing in a punk band in his homeland Venezuela. Since then, he has been involved in experimental music with over a dozen releases. He has worked on projects for League of Legends, South Park, Ugly Americans, The Daily Show, and other established properties. He currently lives in LA, with his two cats Viktor and Lou Reed. He started writing comic books a few years ago with two creator-owned series and more on the way. https://twitter.com/carlosgiffoni Don’t worry, the cat is safe! “he’s just under stress”Why we needed to know that the cat would be okOn inheriting an highly personal creator driven comicCasual SpanishHis work in animation industry& I, https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn finally get to talk Hawkwind with someone who cares
TV writer Tom Ciaccio and Cayden Mak of https://18millionrising.org/ webswing by to talk about the latest MCU movie. Wherein we discuss: The Post Blip EconomyWhat makes a Spider-Man storyUnionizing tech workersSeeing the world through weapons colored lensesGive the trans actor lines you cowards!"At every movie now people are always waiting for Sammuel L Jackson to pop out after the credits"Young Justice S3 Cayden Mak is Executive Director at 18MillionRising.org, where he has been rabble-rousing and nerding out in various roles for the past seven years. Outside of work he keeps busy with local organizing projects in Oakland, California, where he lives with his two cats. On Twitter @Cayden
Tom Ciaccio is a television writer and producer whose recent credits include truTV’s HACK MY LIFE, Bravo’s THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA, and the forthcoming web series, LO: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF ULTIMATE MAN’S EX-GIRLFRIEND. He grew up in Queens but has yet to be bitten by a radioactive anything. He is on twitter at @tomteevee
(and I'm https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn)
Danny the Street sprang into existence out of the first brick thrown at Stonewall. Facts. We loved Doom Patrol on DC Unlverse streaming and comics writer Ben Kahn & comics retailer John Arminio are here to tell you why. The Bureau of Normalcy is ICEYes you should watch Swamp Thing"My face is beat. My look is flawless. And I am dulcet from head to toe. The only thing I am not is scared of you." This covers episodes 3 throug the finale. Hear thoughts on episodes 1 and 2: http://bit.ly/doomP1and2
Ben Kahn is a comic book writer based in New York. Their latest series, Gryffen: galaxy's Most Wanted, is their third collaboration with artist Bruno Hidalgo after Shaman and Heavenly Blues. Gryffen is a genderqueer, anti-fascist space opera published by SBI Press exclusively on ComiXology.
Heavenly Blues sees a ragtag group of deceased thieves condemned Hell team up to pull the ultimate heist on Heaven. Art also by Bruno Hidalgo.
John Arminio is a long-time comic book devotee and retailer who peddles his wares at Comix Connection in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Along with comics, another of his great passions is film, and you can hear him discuss that artistic medium on recent episodes of the podcasts Hellbent for Horror, Film '89, and 26 Movies from Hell.
Thank you John for the editing help! And sorry to our listeners for the wait on this.
Even a bad movie can’t stop the return of the Phoenix! The Phoenix Saga is iconic but it shouldn't be the only Jean story you know. Josh Wilson of The Fabulist interviews me (Elana) for a change, as we talk about Jean Grey in comics and cartoons. How X-Men #28 made me fall for JeanJack Kirby's Jean is feminist. Stan Lee's is not. (via The Kirby Without Words Tumblr http://bit.ly/KirbyWOwordsJean )The Best Use of Jean’s powers is in New X-Men We ship the love rectangleRead Josh's full essay about Jean Grey here: https://the-fabulist.org/2019/06/15/dark-phoenix-and-the-persistence-of-jean-greyand as always listen to the real X-perts: https://www.xplainthexmen.com/
"The Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead of the DCU"-- John Arminio. Secret Six is easily one of the 5 best cape comics of the 21st century. Staring a diverse team of D-List supervillians, the series was created by Gail Simone working with artists including Nicola Scott, Jim Calafiore and Brad Walker. The true heir to the legendary 1980s' Suicide Squad, this comic lovingly depicts mercenaries fucking up their contracts, backstabbing each other, then coming back together to tell the world to go to hell.
I'm joined by comics retailer and critic John Arminio for a deep dive into this brilliantly dark, funny and groundbreaking early 00s series.
Discussed: Why D-List characters are so much funScandal Savage Is Living the Lesbian DreamCigarettes, pools of blood and butts of all gendersGodbless you Nicola Scott for making Catman a sex symbolIs this Bane?Yes, you should watch Doom Patrol (hear our earlier coverage here http://bit.ly/doomP1and2 Also we are now on Spotify! So check us out http://bit.ly/GraphicPolicySpotify
"The Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead of the DCU"-- John Arminio. Secret Six is easily one of the 5 best cape comics of the 21st century. Staring a diverse team of D-List supervillians, the series was created by Gail Simone working with artists including Nicola Scott, Jim Calafiore and Brad Walker. The true heir to the legendary 1980s' Suicide Squad, this comic lovingly depicts mercenaries fucking up their contracts, backstabbing each other, then coming back together to tell the world to go to hell.
I'm joined by comics retailer and critic John Arminio for a deep dive into this brilliantly dark, funny and groundbreaking early 00s series.
Discussed: Why D-List characters are so much funScandal Savage Is Living the Lesbian DreamCigarettes, pools of blood and butts of all gendersGodbless you Nicola Scott for making Catman a sex symbolIs this Bane?Yes, you should watch Doom Patrol (hear our earlier coverage here http://bit.ly/doomP1and2 Also we are now on Spotify! So check us out http://bit.ly/GraphicPolicySpotify
Steven Attewell is the founder of Race for the Iron Throne, covering A Song of Ice and Fire chapter-by-chapter from a historical & political angle. He's published 2 collections of chapter-by-chapter essays and the book "Kings, Hands, and City-States," focusing on the political structures of GRRM's world. He's on twitter @StevenAttewell, Tumblr & has a Patreon for his ASOIAF work.
Reuben “Tihi” Hayslett is a queer activist, writer, and storyteller. As a fluent speaker of Dothraki, one of the languages created for HBO's Game of Thrones, Tihi recently worked on the upcoming Netflix series Daybreak as a Dothraki Language Consultant. Tihi's debut book, Dark Corners, is a short story collection of speculative fiction that centers the voices of queer people of color.
Sarah Rasher is a former professor of Shakespearology. Their pop culture & sports writing at https://twitter.com/pas_deChat
Ben's not writing a dystopia, they're writing a catharisis! "Like the Hulk!" but with a pink queer undercut.
Ben Kahn is a comic book writer based in New York. Their latest series, Gryffen: Galaxy's Most Wanted, is their third collaboration with artist Bruno Hidalgo after Shaman and Heavenly Blues.
Gryffen is a genderqueer, anti-fascist space opera published by SBI Press exclusively on ComiXology.
Heavenly Bluessees a ragtag group of deceased thieves condemned Hell team up to pull the ultimate heist on Heaven. Art also by Bruno Hidalgo.
Follow Ben on twitter at https://twitter.com/BenTheKahn
"Kids have stopped being kids in the time you've made them wait for queer representation... "We won’t metaphorize these things away.”--
Anthony Oliveira is a writer, film programmer, pop culture critic, and PhD living in Toronto.
He’s written comics for Dark Horse, Steven Universe “Fusion Frenzy” and for Marvel “My Drag Brunch with Loki” in War of the Realms:War Scrolls.
He tweets @meakoopa and hosts the podcast The Devil’s Party, as he reads through Milton’s Paradise Lost and its demonic twists and turns.
Discussed: Steven Universe is a healing textIn defense of sad gay narratives“Mike Pince” ??The relief of canon queernessDisco fries"Shakespeare would be writing for Netflix"The corporate politics of Shipping Wars ?? Fusion Frenzy art is by Ver.
Brandon Wilson is an L.A. based filmmaker and educator. He has made two microbudget features, the most recent one -SEPULVEDA which he co-directed with his wife Jena English- is streaming on Vimeo. A former LAUSD teacher, he currently teaches graduate and undergraduate film courses at UCLA, Columbia College Hollywood. He's been reading comic books off and on for almost 40 years.
Tea Fougner is the Editorial Director for Comics at King Features Syndicate. When she's not reading comics for work, she's reading comics for fun, drawing comics, dressing up as comic book characters, or watching comic adaptations on television. (Tea is one of my favorite Captain America experts.) “I want families to be reunited and a sense of normalcy to be restored to the world.”Our Infinity War episode was staggeringly prescientFDR hands it off to the AfrofuturistsThe gayest thing was Carol's hair“ I would very much like to hear your panelists discuss the concept of "America's ass" as it relates to the super-soldier serum, bodily autonomy, and conceptions of identification versus ownership.”Read CK Stewart on fatphobia
Discussing the Game of Thrones S8 Premiere with uniquely qualified experts:
Steven Attewell is the founder of Race for the Iron Throne, which covers A Song of Ice and Fire chapter-by-chapter from a historical and political angle. In addition to two published collections of the chapter-by-chapter essays, Steven is also the author of "Kings, Hands, and City-States," an collection of essays focusing specifically on the political structures of GRRM's world. He is on twitter @StevenAttewell and Tumblr where people ask him a billion questions.
Reuben “Tihi” Hayslett is a queer activist, writer, and storyteller. As a fluent speaker of Dothraki, one of the languages created for HBO's Game of Thrones, Tihi recently worked on the upcoming Netflix series Daybreak as a Dothraki Language Consultant. Tihi's debut book, Dark Corners, is a short story collection of speculative fiction that centers the voices of queer people of color. Doctrine of Targaryen ExceptionalismClimate ChangeThankful that GRRM didn’t go full Claremont in writing dialectsSo, how’s the Dothraki?People who speak Dothraki
In the 1940s this hero’s comics outsold Superman and his movie debut sure is better than the recent Superman movies. We discuss the film, the comics that inspired it and, the City of Brotherly Love that it’s set in.
My guests are: Anthony Otero: a two time novelist and a contributor to The Puerto Rico Strong Anthology. He is also a member of the #BlackComicsChat podcast.
Berry Grass has lived in rural Missouri, Tuscaloosa, & now Philadelphia. She's the author of Hall of Waters (out in August from The Operating System press), & she's the Nonfiction Editor of Sundog Lit.
Notes; Eating Gino’s Cheesesteaks "is a very cop look”In 1985 the Philly police department slaughtered black children by air bomb as their families sleptRead “Let’s Talk About Shazam’s Freddy Freeman and Disabled Superheroes” essay by Kristen Lopez
Writer Cecil Castelluccidiscusses how Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Saga powers her new comics series The Female Furies. Female Furies depicts Big Barda’s own feminist awakening on the hell planet Apocalypse--a world so much like our own.
Cecil Castellucciis the award winning and New York Times Bestselling author of books and graphic novels for young adults including Shade, The Changing Girl, Boy Proof, The Plain Janes, Soupy Leaves Home, The Year of the Beasts, Tin Star, and Odd Duck. In 2015 she co-authored Star Wars Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure. She is currently writing The Female Furies with artist Adriana Melo for DC Comics.
Warning: lots of geeking out over the Fourth World Inside: "Bernadeth would be fun at dinner parties"Hockey Noir: The OperaBeing ahead of the YA curveThere is no allegory, women go through hellWe are all doing our own takes on Jack KirbyPassing the Mega-Rod to the next generationMister Miracle 9 is the lynchpinHere’s Elana's Daily Beast essay about Glorious Godfrey as Donald Trump
Without his left wing politics Green Arrow is just Batman!
Our guests this episode certainly know, having just finished a three-issue run on Green Arrow to close out the series. That's right, our guests are comics most dynamic duo. The New Blue and Gold: Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly.
Jackson and Collin are screenwriters and New York Times Bestselling comic book creators, known for Joyride, Gotham City Garage, Hacktivist and now Zojaqan. In April they are launching STAR TREK: YEAR FIVE #1, which they are also showrunning for IDW's new Star Trek Comics. They're also known in the gaming community for their innovative liveplay RPG shows VAST and CHAMPIONS OF THE EARTH.
Join us for: Advice on finding a writing partnerSeeding queer characters in mainstream comicsSticking the ending on someone else's seriesWho's to the Left of Oliver Queen?Is Jayce Riot the AOC of the DCU?And writing a Star Trek The Original Series comic that works in 2019 Also referenced: this must-read thread by Jackson about their process developing non-binary antifa actitvist character Jayce Riot and ending Green Arrow.
Jay Edidin is half of the podcast Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men (“because it’s about time someone did”). He writes comics, short fiction, and narrative nonfiction; and edits comics, transmedia, and genre fiction. Jay was named comicbook.com's 2017 Comics Person of the Year for his investigative coverage of harassment issues at D.C. Comics and his work to foster diversity and inclusion in comics culture.
Tea Fougner is the Editorial Director for Comics at King Features Syndicate. When she's not reading comics for work, she's reading comics for fun, drawing comics, dressing up as comic book characters, or watching comic adaptations on television.
Graphic Policy (& guests) loved Netflix Punisher S1. Now here's our take on Season 2...
We X-Plain: Joker and Harley Quinn, Netflix styleWhich Wolverine sidekick is Amy?The Skull Vs The MaskWhen You Name Your Episode After Batman: The Killing JokeHow Punisher shops for hot dog rollsComparisons to Mrs. Dalloway and Assault on Precinct 13“Curtis deserves better than the universe he’s stuck in, or any of the people he interacts with.”Punisher comics recommendations and warnings
Captain Marvel merits a conversation that can celebrate it’s feminism and anti-Imperialist themes while criticizing its Air Force propaganda packaging. Queer subtext? 90s throwbacks? We’ve got you covered: Chelsea Manning is Captain Marvel!How we're shapeshifters (Elana's essay about feeling like a Skrull for Wired.com )Monica is the hero“Top Gun is why I almost enlisted, Don't Ask Don't Tell is why I didn’t”The meaning of Nick Fury’s EyeCarol and Maria holding the “gayz” Felicia Perez is the Innovation Director at the Center for Story-based Strategy. She previously worked at the United Workers Congress, ACLU of Southern California & was a high school social studies for twelve years in the Los Angeles Unified School District where she was also an active union leader and chapter chair for United Teachers of Los Angeles.
Tea Fougner is the Editorial Director for Comics at King Features Syndicate. When she's not reading comics for work, she's reading comics for fun, drawing comics, dressing up as comic book characters, or watching comic adaptations on television. Tea is at @TeaberryBlue on everything.
DC's new high concept streaming TV series is based on the cult classic comics. The show is exclusively available on DC's streaming platform DC Universe. Is the show good? Is it worth subscribing to the platform? We discuss the service and the show's first two episodes in depth (first part is spoiler-free). We also geek out on the brilliant comics that inspired it all and when or how to read them. Mental illness and unrully bodiesDoom Patrol: X-Men or Fantastic Four?Negative Man is Green Lantern as horrorWorthy usage of a David Bowie song“Dad feels are the new romance”Is Doom Patrol capable of handing it's queer characters? Reading the comics while watching the show? My guests are:
Comic's retailer and pop culture critic John Arminio: @QuasarSniffer on Twitter.
Mark Argent: Resident Doom Patrol-ologist. Who back in High School served as the Virgil to my Dante in the hell of comics fandom. Perhaps this show is their fault. But @mark_argent can't take it back now.
“I wanted to be the Adam Hughes of Guys” - Artist Nick Robles discusses drawing wings and tails, the makings of a good pin-up and other professional advice.
Nick Robles is a freelance artist from southern Louisiana. Self-taught, he works with digital art as his main medium.
He's been published by BOOM!, IDW, BLACK CROWN, VAULT, DARK HORSE and continues to grow that list with a love for art and creating with passionate storytellers. His most recent book, EUTHANAUTS (with writer TINI HOWARD) has it's first volume dropping on Feb 27th.
"After a near-death experience, lonely funeral home receptionist Thalia Rosewood is recruited into the Euthanauts, a select group of psychonauts, sick folk, and other intrepid explorers who pass over willingly to determine What Lies Beyond."
Nick shares his advice for aspiring artists on things like developing your own style, drawing diverse body types and getting your work out there.
Also on why "drawing Nightwing is relaxing". For which we are thankful.
Robot means laborer.
O Human Star, is a webcomic about a trans robot, the humans who made her and the complex world of robotics and human development they all live in. I interviewed series creator Blue Delliquanti.
Blue is the creator of the Prism Award-winning webcomic O Human Star. Blue is also the co-creator of the graphic novel Meal (with Soleil Ho) and The 'Stan (with David Axe and Kevin Knodell).
We discuss artistic inspiration, transhumanism, robot politics, Rossum's Universal Robots, Mike Mignola's influence, queer stories and generation gaps and the unique joy of finding fanart of your work.
Brilliant queer television for all ages. Steven Universe is “The First Time I’ve Seen Someone Like Myself on Television”Queer family will heal societyWhite Diamond’s White Hegemony Neoliberalism is brittle, a false fusionGuests try to convince Elana to watch a mecha anime? Ethan Gould is a visual artist and project developer living in Brooklyn. He is a graduate of the Visual Narrative MFA program at SVA, likes to create work about fictional materials and even worse, fictional logistics. He mostly writes about environment as character.
Jameson Hampton is a nonbinary adventurer from Buffalo, NY who wishes they were immortal so they could visit every coffee shop in the world. You may have seen their comics and games criticism in WWAC, Rogues Portal and Sidequest!
“I write professional fan fiction. We get paid to do it”
Leah Williams is an American writer originally from Oxford, Mississippi. She writes comics for Marvel, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment, and more. Her debut novel was a YA Fantasy book titled The Alchemy of Being Fourteen and she is currently writing its sequel, The Divinity of Hitting Fifteen. Leah has also written nonfiction articles and essays for The Atlantic, Oprah Magazine, and Salon. Visit Leah's website www.leahmedia.com
Presenting wisdom on: How fans can most effective say "Make It Gay You Cowards” Hoarding queer characters for her X-Tremists mini-seriesEmma Frost's rules: be ruthless, have tendernessBarbarella/Dejah Thoris is hard scifi with hot queer babes
Punisher Season 2 is coming so at the recommendation of our guest, I finally decided to cover Marvel Netflix The Punisher Season 1.
Sean T. Collins is the co-editor of the comics and art anthology Mirror Mirror II and a critic for the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vulture, Decider and many other publications.
Can two leftists enjoy a TV show about a character beloved by the "alt-right"? Yes. Stay tuned for: “Reclaiming Punisher for the goths”Frank Castle is Sandor CleganeMicro is Edward SnowdenMetallicaPunisher fandom explained“Punisher as a symbol for unfettered state violence against people who aren’t white”Season 2 Trailer: exposed! PS I love Sean's ASOIAF / Game of Thrones podcast, Boiled Leather Audio Hour. Listen to it!
From comics for kids to adults-only graphic novels, from superheroes-- Marvel, DC, Valiant and Lion Forge-- to creator-owned Twisted Romance, from slice of life to horror, we read A LOT of comics in 2018. Here are some our favorites!
Bilal Shelby is a non-binary writer who focuses on queerness in historical and speculative fiction.
Alex K Cossa is a contributor to Graphic Policy, a lover of Valiant Comics, and a co-host of Those Two Geeks.
Steven Attewell writes about the intersection of history, politics, and pop culture in The People’s History of the Marvel Universe for Graphic Policy. In his day job, He teaches public policy at CUNY’s Murphy Institute for Labor Studies. He is the founder of Race for the Iron Throne. (A must read for Game of Thrones fans)!
We cover Batman, Fence!, loving everything by Vita Ayala, Saladin Ahmed & Gillen/McKelvie, The Rise of the Black Panther, X-Men miniseries, Giant Days, Tomas Giorello and Chris Priest are BACK, the wholesomest queerest OGN for kids and why Jay Edidin is IRL hero of the year and MUCH more. And how to pronounce the K at the end of Ninjak.
Alexis Sanchez is the creator and co-founder of Latinx Geeks, an online community for latinxs who love all things geeky and pop culture. She is a student by day and geek fangirl by night.
Bill Scurry is a filmmaker and podcaster living New York, with his wife and cat. He's the co-host of the "I Don't Get It Podcast," a frequent contributor to "Wrong Reel" and he's the founder and proprietor of AmericanCaesar Enterprises.
Valerie Complex is a military veteran turned screenwriter and film critic who loves all movies of all genres.
Present: There is no heterosexual explanation for anything in Oceans' 8Susperia is what a remake should beInsecure shows how to light black actorsStar Trek Discovery (“do straight people watch Star Trek?”)BlacKkKlansman on Jewish identityVoltron Hot Takes Other 2018 TV podcasts: The Venture Bros, Adventure Time, Daredevil, She-Ra, Legion
Miles Morales’ feature film debut is breaking boundaries and winning accolades. Join us for a conversation about: This most comic book of all comic book movies"It's like Obama’s 8 years"The superpower of invisibility vs hypervisibilityMiles’ charter school (waiting for Spider-Man not Waiting for Superman)Why did we wait so long for a brown Spider-Man?“Black Panther meets The Power-Puff Girls” Osvaldo Oyola teaches writing at New York University and serves on the executive board for the International Comics Art Forum. His blog,The Middle Spaces publishes work on comics, music and culture. You can also find images from and comments on his growing collection of both current and back issues of comics on his tumblr,Notes from Comics Collecting. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Felicia Perez is the Innovation Director at theCenter for Story-based Strategy. She's worked at the United Workers Congress, ACLU of Southern California & was a high school social studies for 12 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District where she was also an active union leader. She reviews films atLucha’s Flix Picks
She-ra is Netflix new cartoon is a diverse, queer feminist re-envisioning of a cartoon from the 80s. It’s by showrunner Noelle Stevenson of Nimoa comics fame and we LOVE it.
Joining Elana to talk about it are:
Mey Rude is a queer, fat, trans Latina, a writer, a tastemaker and a lover of nerds. She lives in LA and you can find her writing at Autostraddle, Remezcla, them.us and other places. On Twitter @meyrude.
Tea Fougner is the Editorial Director for Comics at King Features Syndicate. When she's not reading comics for work, she's reading comics for fun, drawing comics, dressing up as comic book characters, or watching comic adaptations on television. Tea is at @TeaberryBlue on everything.
Observed:
What the old cartoon got right, what the new cartoon got even better
She-ra is a Star Wars but everyone’s a girl
The importance of LGBTQ cartoons for kids
Trope busting characters such as;
A socialist flying horse
Entrapta and her robot Emily
Scorpiana’s particular Mid-Western dyke energy
“Seahawk is pansexual because he loves men, he loves women and he loves the sea”.- Tea
DIE is a pitch-black fantasy published by Image Comics where a group of forty-something adults have to deal with the returning unearthly horror they barely survived as teenage role-players. If Kieron’s in a rush, he describes it as “Goth Jumanji.” That only captures a sliver of what you’ll find in oversized debut issue—where fantasy gets all too real.
I got two interview two of the biggest talents making comics today: Gillen and Hans.
Kieron Gillen is an award-winning writer based in London, Britain. He is best known as the co-creator of The Wicked + the Divine and Phonogram. His comics work has been published by basically everyone and he's written all the Marvel superheroes you've heard of and a few you've haven't. He has written extensively for Star Wars, and is the co-creator of Doctor Aphra. DIE is his latest ongoing comic. He mainly plays fighters with big mouths.
Stephanie Hans is an artist based in Toulouse, France. She is one of the most prolific and in demand cover artists in the anglophone sphere, and has worked for all the major comic publishers. Her sequential work has been seen in the Wicked + the Divine, Spider-man, Angela, Journey into Mystery and Batwoman. DIE is her first ongoing comic. She mainly plays wizards with big swords.
Discussing: Role Playing Games is being in a band, but for story-telling.Wrestling with TolkienRPG handling of class and Class, race and Race.“If anyone is going to pick up on that it’s Elana”“All the metal album covers are real”Fantasy is a peacockThe birth of the 90sGaming and comics as collective storytellingSensitive metal-headsAnd which new RPGs to pick up!
Daredevil was Born Again in Season 3 of the Netflix series. From brown-washing the FBI to NY pizza history, questionable journalism to plot significant Abstract Art and, Catholic Symbolism as far as your radar can sense. Who better to talk about it all than Pulitzer Award winner Spencer Ackerman, Senior National Security Correspondent for The Daily Beast (and lifelong New Yorker).
Stay till the end for Spencer’s shocking assessment of Iron Fist Season 2. And a predictably high amont of art history lessons from me.
The politics and place of Stan Lee, as told by two self admitted Jack Kirby Jacobins trying to find a balance in a tale of conflict and legends.
Stan Lee and:
Being Jewish
The creative process Civil RightsThe Vietnam WarThe lawsuitsThe digressionsAnd screwing over Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko I'm joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Spencer Ackerman, a senior national security correspondent at The Daily Beast. Read his article on Stan Lee’s legacy here.
We survived the election to bring you in-depth analysis of the Season 7 Finale. Join us for a look at the season’s themes, Empire Strikes Back vs Barbarella (only one of them has Terence Stamp playing Dildano) and a whole lot of Guild of Calamitous Intent ritual borrowed from the Masons. Steven explains who the fuck is Saphrax (and also who’s Hank & Dean’s mom!) and we get into the twin’s psychology again (Jungian and otherwise).
Fair warning: Elana’s knowledge of the Masons largely comes from watching avante-garde filmmaker Matthew Barney’s Cremaster cycle and we both geek out about Alan Moore’s From Hell (which are probably Hammer and Publick’s sources on The Masons anyway).
Batman: Secret Files #1 features comics writer and critic Cheryl Lynn Eaton's debut Batman story! She joins us to talk about her comics and critical writing about DC, Wildstorm and the latest Marvel Netflix series.
A New York metropolitan native (now safely nestled in the outskirts of Atlanta), Cheryl Lynn Eaton has contributed to pop-culture sites as a columnist and reporter, held court as founder of the Ormes Society, maintained a position as an editor for an academic press, written for comic publishers such as Image and DC Comics, and served as an editorial intern for Publishers Weekly. She is on twitter at https://twitter.com/cheryllynneaton
Things get Freudian, Jungian and John Carpenter-ian in the penultimate episode of Venture Bros Season 7. Join @Elana_Brooklyn and @StevenAttewell on a journey up the Hudson River to a real life secret island castle and meet the Villian With 1,000 References. We play Myth Busters about such topics as lawn darts and “chelation”.
So listen to the podcast here, on Graphic Policy Radio’s iTunes or find all of our Venture Bros episodes on this playlist.
PS: Here’s the short story sequel to The Thing I recommended: Sam J Miller’s Things With Beards. Here’s the music video of Cult of Personality.
Come for the long game Venture Bros. lore, stay for the explanation of Curtis Sliwa & the Guardian Angels. Which far fetched as it sounds, is a real thing.
Our podcast examines the themes of The Venture Bros show and all of its cultural and historical references. In this episode Steven Attewell and Elana Levin draw on their knowledge of NY, pop culture and discuss significant themes this season.
Listen here, or on Graphic Policy Radio’s iTunes or find all of our Venture Bros episodes on this playlist.
PS Elana is on two panels at NY Comic Con: New York TimesOUT presents LGBTQ in Pop Culture and Old Classic, New Voices: Diverse Creators Rate the Comics Canon both on Saturday Oct 6th.
This week’s episode, The Unicorn in Captivity is a perfect illustration of why we do this podcast: it is rich with Christ symbolism and Kubrick references. The episode is named after and significantly features one of a series of High Renaissance unicorn tapestries I just so happen to have studied, set in NY’s none-more-goth museum, The Cloisters.
This is the Venture Bros. podcast for people who want to dig into the narrative parallels between our two unicorns; Rusty Venture and The Monarch as well as the symbolism, the history and philosophical questions raised by the hit Adult Swim cartoon.
Steven Attewell examines the episodes’ commentary on sci-fi genre paradoxes via Warren Ellis and Fantastic Four comics. And OSI is no longer just a spoof of GI Joe, it’s a critique of the military industrial complex.
So join us! Here or on Graphic Policy Radio’s iTunes or find all of our Venture Bros episodes on this playlist (plus Episode 6 which is here).
And comment or tweet me here https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn if you have thoughts about this week’s format. We went long this week. I promise you it’s worth it.
Ramon Villalobos is a professional comic artist living in Stockton California. He's worked on books for Marvel such as Nighthawk, Secret Wars:E is for Extinction, America, among others and now Border Town (co created with Eric M. Esquivel) for Vertigo Comics.
"When a crack in the border between worlds releases an army of monsters from Mexican folklore, the residents of Devil’s Fork, AZ, blame the ensuing weirdness—the shared nightmares, the otherworldly radio transmissions, the mysterious goat mutilations—on “God-dang illegals.” With racial tensions supernaturally charged, it’s up to new kid in town Frank Dominguez and a motley crew of high school misfits to discover what’s really going on in this town torn between worlds."
The Venture Bros has rich continuity and character arcs over years. Layer on pop culture and historic reference with thematic significance? It's a lot. So join pop culture & NY history experts Elana Levin and Steven Attewell for our podcast examining each episode of the Adult Swim show.
Season 7 episode 6: The Bellicose Proxy
Wherein: Newish villain Augustus St. Cloud is exploredArchitecture reveals a lost subway locationThe Guild is bad at being a labor organizationAnais Nin books your mom may or may not have hidden in a closetThe late Burt Reynolds is saluted
How many times did you cry watching The Adventure Time Series Finale? Come along with me as we discuss the meaning of the series finale of this revolutionary Cartoon Network show.
We’re joined by Oliver Sava who leads the Onion A.V. Club’s Adventure Time coverage, also freelancing for Vulture, and Chicago Reader. @OliverSava
And Jameson Hampton, a non-binary adventurer from Buffalo, NY who writes a lot of code and reads a lot of comics. They're a regular contributor for WWAC and you can find them on Twitter @jameybash.
This episode includes spoilers for the entire TV series. We also discuss what we’re looking forward to in the continuing Adventure Time comics series published by Boom Comics.
I'm @Elana_Brooklyn on Twitter.
The Venture Brosshow has rich continuity and character arcs that play out over many years. Then layer on pop culture and historic references with thematic significance? It’s a lot to sift through. So join pop culture and history experts Elana Levin and Steven Attewell for our Podcast examining each episode of this hit Adult Swim show.
This is Season 7 episode 5: The Inamorata Consequence.
Learn about the human brain, Fudgie the Whale, yesterday’s video games and enough father drama to win a Tony Award. Also, is this negotiation episode a political metaphor?
Catch up with the show! Listen to Season 7 episode 1 here. Season 7 episode 2 here, Season 7 episode 3 Season 7 episode 4. And our Season 6 episodes are here(and everything is on Graphic Policy's itunes).
Love The Venture Bros cartoon but afraid of missing the plethora of historical references and layers of meaning behind each episode? Join pop culture and history experts Elana Levin and Steven Attewell for our Podcast examining each episode of this hit Adult Swim show.
This podcast is about Season 7 Episode 4: The High Cost of Loathing
Professor Attewell puts his campus teaching experience to use explaining Stuyvesant University. I reveal the dark truth behind HankCo’s Air BnB, We see parallels to Spider-Man and the works of leading American playwright Arthur Miller. Also, does Sandman hold up?
PS learn more about Air BnB here and take action: ShareBetter.org
Listen to Season 7 episode 1 here. Season 7 episode 2 here, Season 7 episode 3. And our Season 6 episodes are here(and everything is on Graphic Policy's itunes).
Love The Venture Bros cartoon but afraid of missing the plethora of historical references and layers of meaning behind each episode? Join pop culture and history experts Elana Levin and Steven Attewell (whose secret identity is that he’s an actual historian) for our Podcast examining each episode of this hit Adult Swim show.
This podcast is about Season 7 Episode 3: Arrears in Science
It's got everything from Frankenstein metaphors to the Gershwin Brothers' Synagogue. 60s songwriter/producers including a real life supervillian, mad scientist/ sorry, I mean filmmaker, Werner Herzog and even a famous Manhattan diner. And more resolved plot threads than we've ever seen. This episode goes deep: it's the conclusion to season 7's Morphic Trillogy but also the conclusion to Season 1's Careers in Science and so much of what the show has to say about fathers and sons.
Listen to Season 7 episode 1 here. Season 7 episode 2 here. And our Season 6 episodes are here (and everything is on Graphic Policy's itunes).
Love the Venture Bros. cartoon but afraid of missing the myriad of historical references and layers of meaning behind each episode? Join pop culture and history experts Elana Levin and Steven Attewell (whose secret identity is that he’s an actual historian) for our Podcast examining each episode of Season 7 of this hit Adult Swim show.
This episode is about Season 7 Episode 2" "The Rorqual Affair".
The Venture Bros. cartoon on Adult Swim references everything from Hannah-Barbara to Marvel, David Bowie to the Big Bopper, cult cinema to Scorsese, Oscar Wilde to Henry Kissinger. The show’s central theme is failure– the reality of life after the promises and optimism of the 60s space age have faded. But also the positive value of failure as a way to learn and grow, of making unpleasant realities better, and ultimately whether you can learn to keep the joyfulness of youth without its illusions.
Catch up on our podcasts of Season 6 right here (and on iTunes).
And our episode about the Season 7 premiere.
Love the Venture Bros cartoon but afraid of missing the myriad of historical references and layers of meaning behind each episode? Join pop culture and history experts Elana Levin and Steven Attewell (whose secret identity is that he’s an actual historian) for our Podcast examining each episode of Season 7 of this hit Adult Swim show.
This episode is about Season 7 Episode 1: “The Venture Bros & The Curse of the Haunted Problem.
The Venture Bros. cartoon on Adult Swim references everything from Hannah-Barbara to Marvel, David Bowie to the Big Bopper, cult cinema to Scorsese, Oscar Wilde to Henry Kissinger. The show’s central theme is failure– the reality of life after the promises and optimism of the 60s space age have faded. But also the positive value of failure as a way to learn and grow, of making unpleasant realities better, and ultimately whether you can learn to keep the joyfulness of youth without its illusions.
Catch up on our podcasts of Season 6 right here (and on iTunes).
San Diego Comic Con is an economy in itself. This is the US's biggest pop culture convention and it has massive implications not just in nerd friendly TV, Movies and oh yeah, comics -- but also in politics. Get the Graphic Policy Radio style scoop on the convention on our site and also from this week's guest and resident San Diegan:
Arturo R. Garcia has worked as a journalist across the media spectrum - newspapers, television news and now as a reporter and fact-checker for Snopes.com. For the past two years he's also been one of two correspondents for Rolling Stone covering San Diego Comic-Con. His work has also appeared at The Raw Story, Racialicious, The Guardian, and Alternet. He has followed a multitude of superhero media fandoms and there is a Rocky Horror Picture Show convention named after him.
Marvel's latest superhero block-buster Ant-Man & The Wasp is a light-hearted heist movie about a crook turned superhero. It's also about found family, the criminal justice system and women in science. Also the Mexican community's profound love of Morrissey. It also features the MCU's 1st Woman of Color villian. Narrative Strategist and life long geek Felicia Perez joins us to talk about the movie.
Felicia is the Innovation Director at the Center for Story-based Strategy (one of the organizations behind Black Panther #FanActivistCon). She previously worked at the United Workers Congress, ACLU of Southern California & was a high school social studies for twelve years in the Los Angeles Unified School District where she was also an active union leader and chapter chair for United Teachers of Los Angeles.
Tini Howard is a writer and swamp witch from the Carolina Wilds. Currently, she writes Euthanauts, Assassinistas (with Gilbert Hernandez) for Black Crown Comics (fmr Vertigo editor Shelly Bond's new imprint) and Hack/Slash: Resurrection, with occasional stories for two of her favorite things: Rick and Morty and WWE. Her previous work includes Power Rangers: Pink, The Skeptics (Black Mask Studios), and a contribution to the hit Secret Loves of Geek Girls. She is writing the upcomming Captain America Annual.
Season 2 of Legion on FX, the nominally X-Men based prestige TV show, gave us a lot to talk about from mental health to memes to retro aesthetics. Leonardo was such a great guest talking Legion Season 1 what with his background in mental health we're thrilled to have him back!
Leonardo Faierman was born in Buenos Aires, raised in Queens, on the playground was where he planned most of his schemes. Since then he’s plowed a jagged path as a writer, editor, podcaster, comic creator, and mostly benevolent malcontent in New York City. Leo’s 1/5th of the long-running podcast @BlackComicsChat, 1/2 of horror podcast @TheScreamSquad, staff writer for Screen Rant, film editor for the independent sci-fi monthly newsletter Narazu, and generally has words all over the interwebs, but they’re frequently gathered up on Twitter at @LeonardoEff.
Taneka Stotts is a queer little tumbleweed that has found herself back in the home embrace of the desert known as Los Angeles. After spending quite a few years as a spoken word artist, Taneka's focus shifted to comics, a medium full of collaboration and imagination. Taneka writes the webcomics "Full Circle" which was recently nominated for a 2018 Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity, Love Circuits," as well as the Eisner-nominated webcomic, "Déjà Brew". Along the way Taneka has edited and self-published a few award-winning comics anthologies including the Lambda Literary 2016 winner for Best Anthology (Fiction) "Beyond: The Queer Sci-Fi & Fantasy Comic Anthology" and the 2017 Ignatz winner for Outstanding Anthology and is now a 2018 Eisner nominee for Best Anthology "ELEMENTS: Fire A Comic Anthology by Creators of Color" (Beyond Press).
BEYOND 2: The Queer Post-Apocalyptic & Urban Fantasy Comic Anthology features 26 stories by 39 incredible contributors, celebrating unquestionably queer characters hailing from across the spectrum of gender and sexuality, front and centre as the heroes of their own stories.
The softcover edition of the Beyond Anthology is 350 pages of black and white comics from a diverse roster of contributors, with queer stories full of renegade city fae, post-apocalyptic bicycle gangs, reclusive monster boyfriends, mysterious sewer-dwelling mermaids, and more!
The Cardboard Kingdom is a graphic novel about kids, creativity, and cardboard! The book follows a variety of children who all live and play in the same neighborhood -- throughout the many chapters, you'll see each child's story unfold, overlap with other kids' adventures, and finally converge upon an epic final quest before summer's end!
The graphic novel is a collaboration between Chad Sell (you've probably seen his Drag Race art) and ten writers from all over the country with a strong representation of LGBTQ voices! Chad is joined by contributing writer Katie Schenkel for a conversation about the book and the importance of LGBTQ comics for all ages.
Christopher Sebela is a two-time Eisner-nominated writer, designer and publisher living and dying in Portland, Oregon. He’s co-created books like Crowded, Shanghai Red, House Amok, Evolution, Heartthrob, High Crimes, We(l)come Back, Dead Letters as well as publishing his comics Short Order Crooks and The Death Defying thru his Two Headed Press. He also writes things in other peoples’ sandboxes like Ghost Rider, Harley Quinn, Kiss/Vampirella, Detective Comics, Captain Marvel, Injustice: Ground Zero and Demonic. He is catnip for weirdos, a fan of every dog and contains toxic amounts of caffeine.
He tweets @Xtop
Wishing you a happy Pride Month. Support LGBTQ writers and artists!
So what I really wanted was a Lando Movie. Does a Han Solo prequil have much to offer Star Wars fans? How about with a revolutionary droid by his side!? So what do two life long Star Wars fans and political organizers think of the latest installment in the Star Wars empire?
I'm joined by Steven Attewell. Steven writes about the intersection of history, politics, and pop culture in The People’s History of the Marvel Universe for Graphic Policy. In his day job, He teaches public policy at CUNY’s Murphy Institute for Labor Studies. He is the founder of Race for the Iron Throne.
Deadpool 2 brings the merc with a mouth to the big screen again along with the first canonically queer couple in a major superhero movie. We are Queer Marvel comics fans and we have opinions.
Guests:
Charles Pulliam Moore is a staff writer atio9where he covers comics and genre culture with a focus on race, representation and queer identity. https://twitter.com/CharlesPulliam
When Sarah Rasher is not rewatching comic book movies For Science, trying to make everyone they know watch DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and texting their friends at 1 AM about the queer implications of the Marvel canon, they are writing a blog about competitive figure skating or trying to apply their Ph.D. in Shakespeare to early childhood education research. https://twitter.com/pas_deChat
The Cellarius Universe (CX)— is an original, transmedia cyberpunk franchise that leverages blockchain technology and user-generated assets to create a collaborative, fan-curated story.
That means they want you to be a part of the writing process! Do fans want to write a new universe? And how does all this work? What role does diversity and representation play in building a user generated world? And how does ownership of content play out in a situation like this?
We're joined by Gregory Whiting, the Community, Ethics, and Inclusion Lead of Cellarius Universe and by Kat Overland, small press editor at Women Write About Comics and fanfic afficionado.
Image Comics presents a surprisingly honest and touching account of a trans girl surviving through sex work in Seattle. THE PERVERT is an unflinching debut graphic novel that is preoccupied with work—what we put into our work and what it takes from us.
Continuing the narrative begun in the Eisner-nominated comics magazine ISLAND, THE PERVERT features painted colors by Remy Boydell and the writing debut of Michelle Perez.
Michelle joins us for a discussion that ranges from public policies around sex work to the art of slice of life comics and the importance of trans naratives.
Join us to discuss the Marvel Cinematic Universe' biggest crossover to date. Our guest experts are Marvel fans with an academic bend:
Steven Attewell writes about the intersection of history, politics, and pop culture in The People’s History of the Marvel Universe for Graphic Policy. In his day job, He teaches public policy at CUNY’s Murphy Institute for Labor Studies. He is the founder of Race for the Iron Throne, a blog about A Song of Ice and Fire.
Brandon Wilson is a Los Angeles based filmmaker and teaches at UCLA and Columbia College Hollywood where he is currently teaching classes on the History of Critical Analysis and a class on David Fincher.
And our host Elana Levin who has a lot to say about the politics of Thanos.
Hey, we haven't seen Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War yet either! But Graphic Policy Radio is going on a journey to the center of Infinity to absorb the legendary comics that inspired Marvel movies' cosmic storylines. Today we focus on the comics of Jim Starlin, the artist and writer who co-created Thanos and who was the source of much of Marvel's psychedelic 70's cosmic opera, cooking up characters like Gamora and Drax.
Joining us is James Hancock, the host of Wrong Reel: a Podcast for Hardcore Cinephiles that tackles everything from Jean-Luc Godard to Jean-Luc Picard. James is a serious fan of Jim Starlin's work and will be catching us all up on all the spaced out glory that sometimes makes it to the screen.
We'll answer questions like; who the hell is Adam Warlock, what is a Soul Gem and whether Starlin's Death is the precursor of jiggle physics. All this and more!
Jeremy Whitley, creator of Princeless and Unstoppable Wasp returns to Graphic Policy to talk about two of my favorite comics about pirates: Raven the Pirate Princess & the new series Sea of Thieves, based on the hit video game. Raven the Pirate Princess is full of humor, high seas romance and all the amazing diverse queer and feminist lady pirates I wish I had as a kid and I'm thrilled to read the exploits of today. So join us and hear all about the Piratical exploits in both series.
Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke may be the worst dad in DC Comics but the solo series he stars in, by writer Christopher Priest and artists including Larry Hama, Carlo Pagulayan, Cary Nord, Diogenes Neves and more, is one of the hottest comics today. Deathstroke is full of politics, violence, poor personal choices, byzantineplots and Episcopalian philosophy.
Join us for a deep dive into the current series with our Esteemed Guests: Hub is the writer, producer, and co-host of Titan Up the Defense, a podcast that covers the two entirely unrelated Bronze Age series the New Teen Titans and the Defenders. It's one of Elana's favorite comics podcasts ever.
Leslie Lee III is a writer and host of Struggle Session, a podcast that takes a leftist look at the reactionary wasteland of American pop culture.
Spencer Ackerman is an aspiring comic book writer and a senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast. As the US national security editor for the Guardian, Ackerman was part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team reporting on Edward Snowden's NSA revelations, and as a senior writer for Wired, he won a National Magazine Award for reporting on Islamophobic counterterrorism training at the FBI.
DC Comics is revisiting Jack Kirby's Masterpiece, the Fourth World in a new Mister Miracle miniseries wirtten by Tom King and art by Mitch Gerads. It's being called the best comic of the year and a worthy tribute to one of The King of Comic's most personal works. Graphic Policy Radio is going into a deep dive discussing the first seven issues with two guest critics, Meg Downey and Anthony Otero.
Meg Downey is a freelance comics journalist and historian who focuses on superheroes and fandom. You can find her work at CBR, Gamespot Universe, and http://DCComics.com.
Anthony Otero is a two time novelist and a recent contributor to The Puerto Rico Strong Anthology. He is also the newest member of the BlackComicsChat podcast.
After a cataclysmic plague sweeps across America, survivors come together to form citystate-like communities for safety. Out beyond the settlement walls are innumerable dangers: feral animals, crumbling structures, and Abominations; those that were touched by the plague and became something other – something as beautiful as it is deadly. Welcome to The Wilds, a brand new comic series.
We’re joined by the writer and the penciler of this hot series from Black Mask Studios.
Vita Ayala spent years in comic and book retail, and night security at a one of the oldest museums in New York City before taking the plunge and entering the Thunderdome life-style that is pursuing a career in the arts. They have since written for DC Comics (Rebirth Wonder Woman Annual #1, Rebirth Supergirl #19), Dark Horse Comics (Secret Loves of Geeks), and Image Comics (Bitch Planet Triple Feature #4), as well as having a creator owned book, The Wilds, through Black Mask Studios.
Before coming to Black Mask Studios to work on the Wilds, Emily Pearson attempted to studying art at her local Junior College. After deciding to drop out she took on commissions and learned how to draw comics. Since then she has illustrated : Vault Comic's "Cult Classic: Zero Short" written by Eliot Rahal, and "All Roads" for "Jacob" written by Jed McPherson.
Puerto Rico Strong is a comics anthology that explores what it means to be Puerto Rican and the diversity that exists within that concept, from today's most exciting Puerto Rican comics creators. All profits will go to towards Disaster Relief and Recovery Programs to Support Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico Strong is available in comic shops:,March 14, 2018 and bookstores March 27th. Pre-orders are still open via Amazon, and the anthology will be available digitally as well as in the UK.
Joining us on Graphic Policy Radio to discuss this exciting comic anthology is two of the individuals behind it, Marco Lopez and Desiree Rodriguez.
Marco Lopez is the creator of the webcomics Massively Effective A Shot of Whiskey and Orion's Belt. Which lead to his working with Lion Forge Comics and Zenescope Entertainment. He recently returned (briefly) to Lion Forge bringing them Puerto Rico Strong and in the coming months, he will be working with a couple of indie comic publishers on a variety of projects.
Desiree Rodriguez is a pop culture critic who has written for Women Write About Comics, The Nerds of Color, and has covered various topics on race, Latinx identity, and sexuality. In her spare time she is one of the co-hosts for the DC TV Classics podcast. Desiree currently works for Lion Forge Comics as an Editorial Assistant.
Christina Strain is the writer of the new Generation X series for Marvel Comics as well as a staff writer for The Magicians which airs on SyFy. She joins the Graphic Policy Radio crew to talk her career, merry mutants, and more!
Strain was born and raised right outside an Army base in Seoul, South Korea where she devoured comics and manga as good nerds do. She began her career as a colorist working at Cross Gen & later on Marvel’s beloved series Runaways. At 32, Christina retired from coloring to go the American Film Institute for a degree in screen writing and at 34, she landed a staff writing job on Season 2 of Syfy’s THE MAGICIANS. And she’s been there ever since!
On Graphic Policy Radio, we're talking about the social implications of Black Panther with an expert and highlight some of the many examples of fans using Black Panther for real world activism. Joining the team to talk about activism and entertainment is Alan Jenkins.
Alan Jenkins is President and Co-Founder of The Opportunity Agenda, a social justice communication lab dedicated to the idea that our nation can and should be a place where everyone enjoys full and equal opportunity. Jenkins is a lifelong fan of comics and sci-fi. The Opportunity Agenda released the report “The Power of Pop: Analyzing Portrayals of Immigrants in Popular Television,” which evaluated the portrayal of immigrants in 40 leading TV shows — including The Walking Dead, NCIS, Orange is the New Black, the Big Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation and Scandal.
Black Panther is dominating movie theaters with a record setting debut, the best for any movie released in February, and the second best opening for a film that's a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie is receiving praise form critics, comic fans, and average viewers alike, combining action with deep themes that create a thought-provoking adventure.
Graphic Policy Radio is joined by two guests to discuss the film, Clarkisha Kent and returning guest Charles Pulliam Moore.
Clarkisha Kent is a Nigerian-American, bisexual blerd, a snark mage and a culture critic. She has written for The Root, The Establishment, BET, Into, and, based on her superhero persona, her nemeses include Lena Dunham, Frank Grillo, and Taylor Swift. https://twitter.com/IWriteAllDay_
Charles Pulliam Moore is a staff writer at io9 where he covers comics and genre culture with a focus on race, representation and queer identity. https://twitter.com/CharlesPulliam
Critically acclaimed writer Alex de Campi teams up with some of comics' most distinctive talent to create tales of love gone wrong, right, and everywhere in between. A new issue of Twisted Romance is released by Image Comics each week in February.
Joining us on the podcast are:
Alex de Campi: an Eisner nominated writer for her graphic novel Smoke and beloved by GP for her series like Grindhouse, Mayday, No Mercy, and Archie Vs the Predator.
Alejandra Gutierrez: a "human" woman from Colombia who makes comics, usually sexy ones, sometimes sad ones, and sometimes both. Her page with Emma Houxbois in the Eisner winning Love is Love anthology is Elana’s favorite.
Katie Skelly: an award winning cartoonist whose work includes My Pretty Vampire, Nurse Nurse, Operation Margarine, and Agent 8 for Slutist.com.
Trungles (Trung Le Nguyen): a comic book artist and illustrator whose work includes Adventure Time: Marshall Lee Spectacular, the highly adult coloring book Fauns and Flora, and Beauties in Fresh Romance.
Heavens to Murgatroyd! The classic Hanna-Barbera character Snagglepuss as a closeted gay Southern playwright being investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee!? That's the concept of the new comic series, Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles written by Mark Russell with art by Mike Feehan and being published by DC Comics.
The first issue felt revolutionary gaining buzz and praise from critics and readers alike with the second issue coming to shelves February 7th.
Writer Mark Russell joins Graphic Policy Radio to talk about the new comic series that has everyone talking.
Mark Russell (THE FLINTSTONES, EXIT STAGE LEFT: THE SNAGGLEPUSS CHRONICLES) is a satirist who isn’t afraid to go to very serious places. His stories take on Trumpism, bullying, war, genocide, historical amnesia and more. His work was featured on Forbes, Slate Magazine and Paste Magazine’s best graphic novel lists in 2017. @Manruss
Abbott is about a female journalist of color in 1970s Detroit named Elena Abbott who investigates a series of grisly crimes the police have ignored—crimes she recognizes to be the work of a dark magical force—the same force that murdered her husband 10 years ago. As she looks for clues, Abbott puts herself in the crosshairs of a mysterious power out for more blood, all the while navigating a harsh social environment that’s structured to protect the powerful, and prevent access to change. Published by BOOM! Studios, Abbott is written by Saladin Ahmed with art by Sami Kivelä.
Saladin Ahmed joins Graphic Policy Radio this Monday to discuss this series and more!
Saladin Ahmed is the author of the Hugo and Nebula-nominated Throne of the Crescent Moon, praised by George RR Martin as 'a rollicking swashbuckler.' His essays, poetry, and fiction have appeared in The New York Times, Salon, the Boston Globe, Slate, NPR, and BuzzFeed. He is currently writing Black Bolt and Exiles for Marvel Comics and Abbott for BOOM! Studios.
Listen in this Monday and Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
The comics team at graphicpolicy.com join us for a roundtable discussion about our favorite comics of 2017 and what's on the horizon for 2018. From indie comics to webcomics to superheroes and beyond, listen in and find something to pick up at your comic store today.
2017 saw highs and lows for comics and we'll be discussing that and more. The best Marvel comics? The best DC comics? Image? Dark Horse? BOOM!? IDW? Lion Forge? Manga? And more! 2017 saw lots of comics both mainstream and indie released and we'll be covering it all. Find out what we enjoyed reading the most and what you should pick up now and put on your pull list for a great 2018 comic and graphic novel reading list.
What were your favorite? Tweet at us and let us know what you enjoyed the most? Tweet us @graphicpolicy
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is dominating at the box office and online debates as people seem to be split as to what to think about the latest entry in the Star Wars universe. We're becoming one with the Force to discuss the movie, its themes, and reflection on the real world.
Joining Graphic Policy Radio to talk about the film is Anthony Oliveira and Cayden Mak.
Anthony Oliveira is a culture writer and literature PhD with the university of Toronto. You can find him on twitter at @meakoopa
Cayden Mak is Executive Director at 18MillionRising.org, where he has been rabblerousing and nerding out in various roles for the past five years. Outside of work he keeps busy with local organizing projects in Oakland, California, where he lives with his two cats.
Bambadjan Bamba is an actor and filmmaker who immigrated from the Ivory Coast with his family fleeing political persecution in 1992. Bambadjan made it through drama school and is now a series regular on NBC's The Good Place and will be seen in what is sure be a blockbuster, Black Panther, the next Marvel film.
Bamba qualified for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) but his immigration status is now in danger due to the Trump administration's announced repeal of the program. Bambadjan refuses to stay silent about the realities faced by undocumented immigrants and is now working with the nonprofit group Define American to share his story about America's outdated and dysfunctional immigration system.
This Monday we'll be joined by Bambadjan Bamba who will talk about his journey and his current fight against an unjust system and why Black Panther matters to him. Listen in Monday and show your support.
Learn everything you ever wanted to know about the history of the business of Marvel Comics! Today we’re interviewing author Sean Howe, author of Marvel Comics the Untold Story.
“In the early 1960s, Marvel Comics introduced a series of bright-costumed superhero characters—including Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and the Amazing Spider-Man—that would evolve into a modern American mythology for millions of readers. Over the last half-century, these characters have been passed along among generations of brilliant editors, artists, and writers who struggled with commercial mandates, a fickle audience, and, over matters of credit and control, one another. Written by Sean Howe, former comic book reviewer and editor at Entertainment Weekly, Marvel Comics: The Untold Story is a gripping narrative of one of the most extraordinary, beloved, and beleaguered pop cultural entities in America’s history.”
Guest hosting is:
Steven Attewell writes about the intersection of history, politics, and pop culture in The People’s History of the Marvel Universe for Graphic Policy. In his day job, He teaches public policy at CUNY’s Murphy Institute for Labor Studies. He is the founder of Race for the Iron Throne.
Harassment is a long standing crisis in the comics industry -- and despite brave voices speaking out, rarely have harassers suffered any consequences. Mainstream reporting on the open secret of sexual harasser Eddie Berganza has finally lead to his firing and now more stories of harassment are coming to light. We think it's time to talk to a lawyer-- an employee rights attorney. We'll not only be discussing some of the high profile harassment cases in the comic industry but also what folks need to know in their every day workplace.
Joining Graphic Policy Radio is Paula Brantner a Senior Advisorfor Workplace Fairness.
Paula Brantner is the Senior Advisor to Workplace Fairness, after serving as Executive Director (2008-2016) and Program Director (2003 to 2007) writing legal content for the Webby-nominated site www.workplacefairness.org, and developing products for WF’s social enterprise program, 0.1.2.3. In 2016, she founded PB Work Solutions, LLC, to counsel and coach workers in toxic workplaces and consult and advise on workplace issues and nonprofit strategy. An employment lawyer for 25 years, Paula has degrees from UC-Hastings College of the Law and Michigan State University’s James Madison College. She is a former co-coordinator for NetSquaredDC and a retired DC Rollergirl. She volunteers at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, travels around the world to see pandas.
Star Trek Discovery has wrapped up the first half of its first season and we're diving in to discuss the controversial addition to the Star Trek universe. What did that cliffhanger mean? Is the show too dark? What's it saying about the state of the world? And why isn't this on television!? We're talking all of that and more when we're joined by guest Sarah Rasher.
Sarah Rasher began their Starfleet career by founding their high school's Star Trek club, which doubled as a Gay-Straight Alliance. Now, in addition to being totally obsessed with Star Trek Discovery, they are embarking on yet another rewatch of Deep Space Nine. When not overly invested in Star Trek, Sarah works in education research and blogs about competitive figure skating at thefinersports.com.
Graphic Policy Radio heads to the movies to discuss the latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor: Ragnarok! The film is dominating the box office with it's action, visuals, and humor, but beneath it all is a film that has very interesting things to say about such issues as colonialism and refugees. We'll talk about and of course its Jack Kirby inspired aesthetics with guest Brandon David Wilson.
Brandon David Wilson, a Los Angeles-based filmmaker and lecturer at UCLA and Columbia College Hollywood. He has directed numerous short films and two feature films, most recently “Sepulveda” sepulvedathemovie.com which he co-directed with his wife Jena English. He writes essays on film and culture at geniusbastard.com. He also tweets a lot @GeniusBastard.
High-achieving college student Renee gets bitten by a werewolf, and things take a turn for the weird. She ends up with the Moonlighters: Monster Helpers for hire! Made up of Meg (Were-Huskie), Sue (Were-Akita), and Felipe (Were-Corgi), they have to take supernatural odd-jobs to pay for textbooks, ramen, and gulp rent! (Please hire them). Written by Katie Schenkel with art by Cal Moray, and published by Space Goat Productions, Moonlighters is an indie comic series you should be checking out this Halloween season!
Schenkel joins this new episode of Graphic Policy Radio to talk her humorous and fun comic series in a spooktacular new episode.
Katie Schenkel is an editor, critic, copywriter, and fiction writer. The Cardboard Kingdom, her graphic novel with artist Chad Sells, has been sold to Knopf Books for Young Readers and will be published in early 2018. Her critic work can be found on Comics Alliance, The Mary Sue, Book Riot, and various pop culture websites. She hosts a movie review series and a podcast on JustPlainSomething.com. Besides her freelance work, Katie is a full-time digital copywriter for Rewards Network in Chicago.
What if the Suicide Squad was an art comic? That's one of the best ways to describe Michel Fiffe's Copra, one of the best superhero comics being published today. On this brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio we'll be talking to Fiffe about the series and his success in independent publishing.
Michel Fiffe is the creator of two critically acclaimed titles: the action series Copra published by Bergen Street Press and the quasi-neorealistic Zegas, newly collected by Fantagraphics. He’s written and drawn for Marvel, Valiant, IDW, Boom! Studios, and Dynamite Entertainment. Fiffe continues to serialize Copra, recently launched a Patreon-exclusive comic Negativeland, and is working on a 3-issue mini seriesBloodstrike: Brutalists for Image Comics.
Official Fall ritual: rewatching the award winning animated special Over the Garden Wall. And now you can do it with the experts. Dark Horse has released a book: The Art of Over The Garden Wall. The book is a complete tour through the development and production of the animated masterpiece, containing hundreds of pieces of concept art and sketches, and a comprehensive look at the show’s breathtaking production art. Also includes commentary from creatorsPatrick McHale and Nick Cross, interviews with the cast and crew, and more!
It's writer Sean Edgar will be joining us to talk about it.
And that's a Rock Fact.
Graphic Policy Radio is back to discuss all the latest comic news! It's been a bit since both Brett and Elana have been on the show together and they're catching up on New York Comic Con and more. Expect discussion about Marvel and Northrop Grumman, NYCC, the latest comic news, and so much more in a potluck episode that'll take you through a whirlwind of geekdome.
We want to hear from you too! Tweet us the stories you want us to cover and discuss during the show and of course your thoughts! You can Tweet us @graphicpolicy.
The Defenders was supposed to be Marvel and Netflix's biggest hit yet: a team up series bringing togehter Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. But the results have been divisive: some fans hate it, some found it fun. Find out where our comics reading film critics fall in that debate and what we'd like to see more of from Marvel Netflix.
Host Elana Levin (@elana_brooklyn on twitter) is joined by Brandon David Wilson, a Los Angeles-based filmmaker and educator. He has directed numerous short films and two feature films, most recently “Sepulveda” sepulvedathemovie.com which he co-directed with his wife Jena English. He writes essays on film and culture at geniusbastard.com. He also tweets a lot @GeniusBastard.
Mine! is a comic collection that celebrates the amazing work of Planned Parenthood and personal empowerment. It includes stories about healthcare, personal experiences and empowerment, done in genres as historical, dramas, science fiction, fantasy, superhero, and satirical stories.
Joining Graphic Policy Radio are Molly Jackson and Joseph Corallo to talk about this Kickstater project, one you should be backing!
Mine! features an impressive roster of creative talent of over 100 creators and you have until September 15th to back it. Help them create this book of empowerment that's raw, heart-felt and visually stunning.
Written by David Walker and Dr. Sheena C. HowardSuperb follows teenager Kayla Tate who is forced to move back to her hometown of Youngstown, Ohio where the mysterious superhero “Cosmosis” battles the supposedly-benevolent corporation Foresight. What makes the series unique is that the superhero, Jonah, has Down Syndrome and publisher Lion Forge is working with the National Down Syndrome Society on the portrayal of the character and will include educational material for readers.
Joining Graphic Policy Radio to discuss this new series are writers David Walker and Sheena C. Howard.
Sheena C. Howard, is a Past Chair of the Black Caucus (NCA) and Associate Professor of Communication at Rider University. Howard is an award-winning author, including a 2014 Eisner Award winner for her first book, Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation. She's also the author of Black Queer Identity Matrix and Critical Articulations of Race, Gender and Sexual Orientation. Howard has appeared on NPR, The Washington Post, ABC, Philadelphia Weekly as well as other networks and documentaries as an expert on popular culture, race, politics and sexual identity negotiation. She also writes for The Huffington Post.
David F. Walker is an award-winning comic book writer, author, filmmaker, journalist, and educator. His work in comic books includes working with Dynamite, Marvel, IDW/Monkeybrain, and Dark Horse. He is also the creator of the YA series The Adventures of Darius Logan.
Walker is recognized as a leading scholar expert of African-American cinema. He's directed and produced films, written for numerous sites as screen editor and film critic, and taught courses such as documentary filmmaking, writing for comics, and film criticism.
Editors Julia Gfrörer & Sean T. Collins have amassed some of the darkest talents within as well as outside of comics to create a wholly singular reading and visual experience. From masters of horror like Clive Barker to leading figures in altcomics such as Simon Hanselmann, this collection — focused on the intermingled themes of horror, ography, the Gothic, and the abject —Mirror Mirror II transcends the expectations of what a comics anthology can do.
Mirror Mirror II features new and unpublished work from Lala Albert, Clive Barker, Heather Benjamin, Apolo Cacho, Sean Christensen, Nicole Claveloux, Sean T. Collins, Al Columbia, Dame Darcy, Gretchen Alice Felker-Martin, Noel Freibert, Renee French, Meaghan Garvey, Julia Gfrörer, Simon Hanselmann, Aidan Koch, Laura Lannes, Céline Loup, Uno Moralez, Mou, Jonny Negron, Claude Paradin, Chloe Piene, Josh Simmons, Carol Swain, and Trungles.
Julia Gfrörer was born in 1982 in Concord, New Hampshire. Her work has appeared in Thickness, Arthur Magazine, Study Group Magazine, Black Eye, Kramers Ergot, and multiple volumes of Best American Comics. Her graphic novels Black is the Color and Laid Waste are published by Fantagraphics Books.
Sean T. Collins has written for Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Wired, Vulture, Esquire, Pitchfork, The Comics Journal, and others. His comics have been published by Marvel, Top Shelf, Study Group, and Youth in Decline. He and Julia live with their children on Long Island.
Mirror Mirror II is the publisher 2dcloud's annual flagship anthology.
We're talking with Rebecca "Rae" Epstein about her promising debut graphic novel Gently Murder Me. It's a diary comic about the inability to connect with the person one most wants to connect with in the modern, technology-filled world. Writer Rebecca Epstein’s words are enhanced by Kathryn Briggs’, Blakely Inberg’s, Edgar Vega’s, and Mary Safro’s varied and equally skilled styles in the first four volumes, which involve full diary entries. The fifth is a collection of illustrations done by 9 artists, giving readers a peek into a lonely mind. Sad and dark, but relatable, Gently Murder Me seeks to find definition in the world through human longing.
We'll talk with the author about her unique approach to making comics as well as her critical writings.
Graphic Policy discusses Spider-Man: Homecoming with two perfect experts for the job: Brandon Wilson and the Blerdgurl Karama Horne!
Brandon Wilson is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker and educator. He's been a classroom teacher since 2005. He has directed numerous short films and two feature films, most recently "Sepulveda" http://www.sepulvedathemovie.com which he co-directed with his wife Jena English. "Sepulveda" has won awards at local festivals and is currently available for rent or purchase on Vimeo On Demand. He writes essays on film and culture at http://geniusbastard.com . He also tweets @Genius_Bastard.
and
Karama Horne (a.k.a. - “the blerdgurl”) is a freelance commercial video editor by day and comic book reading, anime watching, TV live tweeting, K-Pop listening, blog writing, superhero geek gurl by night. On a mission to shine a light on both characters and sequential artists of color, she provides commentary, reviews and interviews on her popular tumblr and official website theblerdgurl.com. Karama is busy fixing up her century old brownstone in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn.
As the Crow Flies is a story about Charlie — a queer 13 year old girl who finds herself stranded in a dangerous place: an all-white Christian youth backpacking camp. It has been nominated for the Slate Cartoonist Studio Prize (2013), an Eisner Award (2014), and an Ignatz (2016), and won a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators (2016).
Creator Melanie Gillman joins graphic Policy Radio to discuss their webcomic as well as Steve Universe!
Melanie Gillman is an Eisner- and Ignatz-nominated cartoonist. They are the creator of As the Crow Flies, a webcomic about queer teens and Christian youth camp, which will be published by Iron Circus Comics in late 2017. They have also written the Steven Universe comic for BOOM! Studios including the fan-favorite Stevonie storyline. They currently live in Tulsa, OK, where they are a 2017-2018 fellow in the Tulsa Artist Fellowship program. Their work can be read at: http://melaniegillman.com
Celebrity-socialite Reno Selleti doesn’t believe in very much beyond Instagram comments, hipster drugs, and the flash of paparazzi cameras, so when a friend invites her to an EYES WIDE SHUT-type party she goes along mostly for the lulz. But the joke doesn’t feel as funny when she realizes it’s an actual occult ritual, and suddenly she’s seeing things… horrifying apparitions trying to warn her. “RUN.”
There's Nothing There is a stylish & hallucinatory thriller about losing yourself in the bright lights and finding yourself at rock bottom by writer Patrick Kindlon, artist Maria Llovet, and published by Black Mask Studios.
Patrick joins Brett and Elana for a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio to discuss the series and more.
Patrick Kindlon is a comic writer whose credits include a decade of struggle in other artistic fields, some notoriety among people who get caught shoplifting from Whole Foods, and a few really great comics (due largely to collaborations that elevate his work). His breakthrough book was We Can Never Go Home with oft writing partner Matthew Rosenberg and artist Josh Hood. His most recent work, There's Nothing There with artist Maria Llovet, ups the darkness in his earlier work to pitch black. He is admittedly out-of-touch.
Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
June is Pride Month so we're talking with some of our favorite LGBTQ comics critics about the current state of LGBTQ people in comics: on and off the page.
Our guests:
Desiree Rodriguez is a columnist and Editorial Assistant for Lion Forge Comics’ Catalyst Prime. Desiree also writes for The Nerds of Color and Women Write About Comics @boricuadesiree)
Logan Dalton writes about comics and TV shows for sites like Graphic Policy and Nerds on the Rocks. Once he interviewed a vampire. He lives in the south. @MidnighterBae
Véronique Emma Houxbois is a fiercely queer trans woman from the wilds of Canada, most recently spotted in the Pacific Northwest. Contributor at Comicosity, Women Write About Comics, and London Graphic Novel Network. Consultant on Bitch Planet. Published by DC/IDW in Love is Love with Alejandra Gutierrez. @EmmaHouxbois
The Wonder Woman movie smashed expectations to become a huge hit. Graphic Policy discusses the blockbuster including it's portrayal of sexuality, race, world history and badass swords.
Our guests:
Keidra Chaney is the co-founder and publisher of The Learned Fangirl a website that amplifies marginalized voices in media criticism and fandom scholarship. Keidra is currently a strategist for the Culture Lab’s Cultural Pulse Project, which connects organizers and progressive changemakers with online pop culture communities. She's been published in Chicago Sun-Times, Time Out Chicago, Bitch Magazine Keidra has had a varied career in independent publishing, digital strategy and social media community management for non-profit organizations.
Desiree Rodriguez is a pop culture critic who has written for Women Write About Comics, The Nerds of Color, is the co-host for the DC TV Classics podcast, and editorial assistant for Lion Forge’s Catalyst Prime initiative.
Have you ever wondered what a comic colorist does? We find out that and more with guest Tamra Bonvillain, one of the hardest woking people in comics.
The focus when it comes to comics is often on the writers and pencilers, but there's so many more hard working people that work to bring us the entertainment we love. We'll find out about being a colorist in the comic industry as Bonvillain joins hosts Elana and Brett for a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio.
Tamra Bonvillain is a professional Colorist applying color and shading to comics. She has worked in the comics industry since 2012. She is currently working on Doom Patrol, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Wayward, Uncanny Avengers, and various others. She tweets @TBonvillain
We want to hear your questions! Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy
"Diversity" has turned into a marketing buzzword in comics and few deliver that behind and on the page. Lion Forge Comics' new Catalyst Prime universe of comics is actually delivering that in every sense with new characters we've never seen and a group of creators who bring varied perspectives to the page. Talking about this exciting new universe are guests Christopher Priest, Joe Illidge, and Desiree Rodriguez.
Christopher Priest is the legendary comic writer who has written for Marvel, DC, Valiant, and more. He was part of the group of creators who launched Milestone Media. Along with Illidge, Priest oversees the Catalyst Prime line of comics.
Joseph Phillip Illidge is a public speaker on the subjects of race, comics and the corporate politics of diversity. In addition to his coverage by The New York Times, CNN Money, the BBC and Publishers Weekly, Joseph has been a speaker at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Digital Book World’s forum, Digitize Your Career: Marketing and Editing 2.0, Skidmore College, The School of Visual Arts, Purdue University, on the panel “Diversity in Comics: Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Sexual Orientation in American Comic Books” and at the Soho Gallery for Digital Art in New York City. Illidge is the Senior Editorial Manager for Lion Forge Comics.
Desiree Rodriguez is a pop culture critic who has written for Women Write About Comics, The Nerds of Color, is the co-host for the DC TV Classics podcast, and editorial assistant for Lion Forge's Catalyst Prime initiative.
Tweet us your question @graphicpolicy.
Graphic Policy Radio is joined by filmmaker Brandon Wilson to discuss Guardians of The Galaxy, Vol 2, Marvel's latest box office hit.
Brandon Wilson is a filmmaker and teacher. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he attended UCLA where he took a B.A. in African-American Studies and an M.F.A. from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television.
Wilson has made several short films and written numerous screenplays. In 2005 he made his feature debut The Man Who Couldn’t… for under $10,000 on standard definition digital video. The ?lm debuted at the 2005 Pan-African Film Festival and won the Oscar Micheaux Award at the Bare Bones Film Festival in Oklahoma.
Last year his second feature SEPULVEDA world premiered in New York City at the Urbanworld Film Festival. It has gone on to win a Special Achievement Award at the Culver City Film Festival and a Best Ensemble Acting Award at the Silicon Beach Film Festival. SEPULVEDA was improvised with non-professional actors and co-directed and co-edited by Wilson and his wife Jena English.
Wilson also maintains a blog at geniusbastard.com where he writes about films, pop culture and politics and tweets at great length about the same.
We want to hear what you think. Tweet us questions @graphicpolicy.
I am Groot!
Mary Posa hates her job. She works long hours for little pay, no insurance, and worst of all, no respect. Her co-workers are jerks and her boss doesn't appreciate her. He's also a supervillain. And her parents... well, they're the most famous superhero couple in Crepe City, along with her sister. Cursed with a conscience, Mary would give anything to be something other than a Henchgirl, but no matter what she does her plans always seem to go awry.
This Wednesday writer and artist Kristen Gudsnuk joins Graphic Policy Radio to discuss her comic series Henchgirl with hosts Elana and Brett.
Kristen Gudsnuk is a New York City-based comic book writer and artist. She is the creator of Henchgirl, published by Dark Horse Comics. She's also the illustrator for the children's series VIP.
We want to hear from you! Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
This past week the first issue of Marvel's Secret Empire was released bringing together a year of build up revolving around Captain America actually being an agent of Hydra. On this episode of Graphic Policy Radio, we discuss the history of Captain America, the connection between Hydra and Nazism and what this comic storyline all means in the age of Trump.
Joining hosts Elana and Brett are Steven Attewell and J. A. Micheline.
Steven Attewell wrote that article everyone quotes about Captain America being a New Deal Democrat and can tell you which specific New Deal jobs program Steve Rogers worked for before he joined Project Rebirth. Attewell also pens the "People's History of the Marvel Universe" column for Graphic Policy. He teaches public policy at CUNY’s Murphy Institute for Labor Studies. He is the founder of Race for the Iron Throne.
J. A. Micheline is a writer and critic who often writes about comics, particularly from a race and gender perspective. She is an Editor at Comics Bulletin. She has also contributed to VICE, The Guardian, and The AVClub.
Tweet us your thoughts and questions @graphicpolicy.
Legion is the latest comic book character to come to television. The first season introduced David Haller, the powerful mutant who may or may not be schizophrenic. The series recently wrapped up its eight-episode first season not just delivering trippy visuals but an intriguing story that weaved in elements of the comic series and classic character.
Guest Leonardo Faierman is joining Graphic Policy Radio's hosts Brett and Elana to discuss the series.
Leonardo Faierman was born in Buenos Aires, raised in Queens, on the playground was where he planned most of his schemes. He writes video game, music, comic, and movie reviews at BlackGirlNerds and other websites. He also writes a comic book and co-hosts the podcast #BlackComicsChat, live on Twitter every other Friday.
Tweet us your thoughts during the show @graphicpolicy.
What if we had more diversity in action films? That's what actor John Brougher set out to show with the short film Iron & Rage. Iron & Rage reimagines Marvel's Netflix series Iron Fist as an Asian-American superhero with a diverse supporting cast. This Tuesday, we discuss this and more when John Brougher joins Graphic Policy Radio with hosts Brett and Elana.
John is an actor based out of Los Angeles who can be seen on screen and stage, playing such roles as Dan in the first season of "The A-Word," Bob in "Secret Valentine," the titular role of Willum Cubbert in "The Nerd," and James Ryan in Mark Jason Williams's "Straight-Faced Lies" in the Capital Fringe Festival. Before that, he was "Brad Majors" in Nu Sass Productions's "The Rocky Horror Show" and was Jacob in "Tent of Dreams: An Occuplay," an Iraq war veteran who turns to faith after his tour of duty. John Brougher has been Bottom in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," the Pirate King in "The Pirates of Penzance," worked on numerous commercials and films, and hosted many events.
Listen in and Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
Aydis is a viking, a warrior, an outcast, and a self-proclaimed heathen. Aydis is friend to the talking horse Saga, rescuer of the immortal Valkyrie Brynhild, and battler of demons and fantastic monsters. Aydis is a woman. Born into a time of warfare, suffering, and subjugation of women, she is on a mission to end the oppressive reign of the god-king Odin.
This Monday on a brand new Graphic Policy Radio, writer and artist Natasha Alterici discusses her series Heathen published by Vault Comics.
Natasha Alterici is a writer and artist from Oklahoma. She earned her Bachelor's in Art from Northeastern State University in 2009, and soon after found herself working on freelance illustration and comics projects. Her work includes Heathen, Dinosaur Project, Gotham Academy: Yearbook, Grayson Annual, The Lez Film Review, and more. When not drawing, she enjoys watching cooking shows with her girlfriend and their cat.
We want to hear from you! Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy!
Snikt. Snikt. In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X somewhere on the Mexican border. However, Logan's attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are upended when a young mutant arrives, pursued by dark forces.
Logan is the latest and reportedly final ride of Hugh Jackman as the iconic Wolverine partnering him with Patrick Stewart as Professor X and Dafne Keen as Laura aka X-23! Part road trip, part western, Logan explores themes and tackles issues as immigration, intellectual property, violence in fantasy entertainment, the inevitability of death, and more.
Joining hosts Elana and Brett to discuss the film is Graphic Policy contributor Logan Dalton.
By day, Logan is a data entry administrator. At night, he writes about comics, TV shows for sites like Graphic Policy and Nerds on the Rocks, and is even working on a play. Once he interviewed a vampire. Feel free to pick his brain on LGBTQ representation in comics at any time on Twitter @MidnighterBae
We want to hear your thoughts. Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy.
Comic-book stories celebrate women who crack ceilings, take names, and change the game. That's Femme Magnifique, the comic anthology that salutes 30 female trailblazers of yesterday and today currently being Kickstarted featuring a who's who of comic creators. That's at least 30 stories from over 50 creators.
From astronauts and abolitionists to computer coders and crack journalists, these fearless women have paved the way for equal rights in science, politics and the arts. What better way to celebrate their achievements than in Femme Magnifique, a book that can live on in teenage bedrooms, corporate boardrooms and libraries around the world?
Joining Graphic Policy Radio to discuss this comic project is the legendary Shelly Bond who will be editing the stories featured.
Shelly Bond has been driven to edit, crush deadlines and innovate since 1988. To date she has edited 950+ comic books and graphic novels by international superstars and novices. One of the most respected and admired editors among her peers, Bond previously served as VP-Executive Editor of DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint. She wields red pens and tap shoes with equal aplomb.
Join us Monday and Tweet us questions @graphicpolicy.
Batman. Vixen. The Ray. The Atom. Black Canary. Killer Frost. Lobo. They're the Justice League of America. The brand new superhero group launching on shelves February 22. Before the first issue is released, Graphic Policy Radio is talking to writer Steve Orlando about the new DC Comics series and what he has in store for us.
Meet the Extremists-self-proclaimed saviors from another Earth, they thirst for peace, prosperity and total submission to the will of their leader, Lord Havok! How can the newly assembled JLA stop this group of misguided maniacs before the Extremists unleash their own unique-not to mention dangerous!-brand of law and order on our chaotic world?
Orlando is the talented writer behind series such as Midnighter/Midnighter & Apollo, Supergirl, Namesake, Undertow, Virgil, and the upcoming Batman/The Shadow.
Find out about this latest Justice League of America and tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
El Sueño, Texas, was a single street town withering under the shadow of the Mexico—U.S. Barrier. Then the pavement split, and a massive crack spread from one end to the other, rapidly swallowing El Sueño whole. Young couple, Avery Lee Olmos and Hark Wright fight to escape the mysterious sinkhole and the malevolent force that beckons from its depths.
Fissure, the debut series from Vault Comics is part horror, part look at race relations and society. The debut issue is a layered read that entertains and makes you think. This Monday we have writer Tim Daniel to discuss his brand new series and more!
Creator, writer, and designer, Tim Daniel, got his start in comics writing The Walking Dead: Survivor's Guide for Robert Kirkman's Skybound Entertainment. (He later became a zombie himself in the show's pilot episode.) In 2012, Tim's first original comic, Enormous, was published by Image Comics. Enormous later returned to print in 2014 as an ongoing series from 215Ink. Since then, Tim has written and co-created Burning Fields and Curse (both with BOOM!), as well as Skinned (Monkeybrain).
Listen in to find out about this new series, publisher, and more! Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
Stories of resistance to tyranny are a powerful Force for change (pun intended). Star Wars' mythos are more relevant than ever and we'll be discussing fan communities using Star Wars to fight the Empire with Brian Young.
Brian works on the Imagine Better campaign to form a Rebel Alliance for a better Star Wars fandom.
Young has produced political documentaries for the Disinformation Company and written for Huffington Post about politics since 2007, but he's also a big Star Wars fan. He writes for StarWars.com and Star Wars Insider Magazine and hosts one of the largest Star Wars podcasts: Full of Sith. He talks regularly about Star Wars and politics, but only occasionally at the same time, but not for lack of wanting to.
He is @swankmotron on twitter.
Remember Hawkeye? No not that Hawkeye, our favorite Hawkeye, the butt-kicking hero who had to save the other Hawkeye's butt all the time. Yup, you know her, it's the dazzling Kate Bishop making her solo comics debut! Kate is heading west and returning to Los Angeles, with her bow and arrow and P.I. badge in tow. There are crimes to solve and she's the best archer to handle ‘em! The City of Angels has a new guardian angel. Written by Kelly Thompson, Kate Bishop is taking center stage with her own comic series from Marvel. Thompson joins Graphic Policy Radio to talk this and more!
Thomspon is the talented writer behind such series as Hawkeye, The Misfits, A-Force, Jem & the Holograms, Power Rangers: Pink, Captain Marvel & The Carol Corps, and so much more. We're going to be discussing all of that and what makes Kate Bishop awesome!
Have questions? Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy
DC Comics' Suicide Squad has some of the world's most dangerous criminals as its members, but when it comes to the Suicide Squad its leader and manipulator Amanda Waller might be the scariest. In Suicide Squad Most Wanted DC Comics is highlighting the members of the team and writer Vita Ayala is tackling "The Wall," Amanda Waller. Ayala joins Graphic Policy Radio this Monday to talk Waller and more!
Vita Ayala is a writer based out of New York City. They penned their first piece of fiction at the tender age of ten, and never looked back. Though traditionally a prose writer, they have had work published by DC Comics (DC New Talent Showcase #1, DC Holiday Special 2016, Suicide Squad Most Wanted: El Diablo & Amanda Waller #5). They also have a few soon-to-be-released comics projects in the works–including Our Work Fills The Pews through the publisher Black Mask Studios. When they are not actively writing, Vita spends their time scheming ways to get tickets to see Hamilton and cultivating an appreciation for New York’s finest cheap pizza.
Listen and get the scoop on Amanda Waller and their upcoming comic project this Monday on a brand new episode!
Have questions? Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy
Mad science is the punkest s* there is. Teenage sweethearts Nat & Sumesh spend their nights breaking into abandoned superlabs to steal the parts they need to build a time machine - and they've just found the most important part. But mysterious entities keep trying to stop them turning it on. Now all they've gotta do is hang on long enough to figure out why. Magdalene Visaggio and Eryk Donovan bring you a high-octane adventure full of robots, muscle cars, and queer-a skater punks in Quantum Teens are Go, the brand new series fromBlack Mask Studios!
Magdalene & Eryk join Graphic Policy Radio to discuss the new series before the pre-order date ends and it hit stores shelves. Joining hosts Elana and Brett is Graphic Policy contributor Logan Dalton.
Magdalene Visaggio is the writer and creator of Kim & Kim and Quantum Teens Are Go for Black Mask Studios. A former wannabe academic theologian, she turned to writing comics after dropping out of graduate school. She actually started writing comics when she was eight, but honestly, those were pretty terrible. She has contributed work to DC Comics’ Shade the Changing Girl, alongside her participation in the Dirty Diamonds comic anthology. She is also a contributing writer at Paste Magazine. Magdalene lives in Manhattan.
Eryk lives in Savannah, GA and draws comics. He is known for his work on MEMETIC, COGNETIC, CONSTANTINE, and the Harvey and Eisner Nominated IN THE DARK ANTHOLOGY amongst others. His hands are rarely free of ink.
By day, Logan is a data entry administrator. At night, he writes about comics, TV shows for sites like Graphic Policy and Nerds on the Rocks, and is even working on a play. Once he interviewed a vampire. Feel free to pick his brain on LGBTQ representation in comics at any time on Twitter @MidnighterBae
On this special edition of Graphic Policy Radio, Elana is joined by two of the freshest nerd-savvy voices in film criticism for a look at what might be Star Wars' most political film to date.
We'll discuss LGBTQ coded relationships and other issues of representation in the film, whether the film succeeds artistically and what made us misty-eyed.
Charles Pulliam-Moore is a blogger at Fusion where he writes about race, sexuality, and inclusion in nerd culture (including this piece on Rogue One) . Twitter is his social media drug of choice.
Shaun Lau is an Asian-American activist and host of the No, Totally Podcast about film and social issues. Listen at http://nototally.com/ and follow him on Twitter
Girl. Genius. Hero. Unstoppable.
Nadia spent the entire first half of her life a captive of The Red Room, but now this teenage super-scientist is on her own for the first time, and she’s ready to spread her wings! Hank Pym’s daughter has a lot of time to make up for and she’s determined to change the world.
Debuting January 4, Marvel's The Unstoppable Wasp is written by Jeremy Whitley with art by Elsa Charretier. It's a brand new comic series for a brand new year and we've got Jeremy returning to Graphic Policy Radio to discuss it and more!
Jeremy Whitley is the creator of the original comic series Princeless, Illegal, and The Order of Dagonet. His work has been nominated for two Eisner Awards, Five Glyph Awards, and numerous other honors. In addition to his original creations, he has also been a regular writer for IDW’s My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and My Little Pony: Friends Forever series as well as Action Lab’s NFL Rush Zone and GlobWorld comic series. He's also written for Marvel including a contribution to Secret Wars: Secret Love and now The Unstoppable Wasp!
Jeremy has been at the forefront of changing trends in the comic industry, and a leader for diversity in both creators and characters.
Listen in and Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy!
Rockstars follows a pair of young, rock ‘n roll investigators as they uncover a mystery involving a legendary band, dead groupies, human sacrifice and a supernatural undercurrent connecting so many famous—and even more undiscovered—secrets, myths and conspiracies peppering rock music throughout the ages.
Graphic Policy welcomes writer Joe Harris to the show to talk his new series (with artist Megan Hutchison) published by Image Comics!
Harris is the creator and writer of myriad comics and graphic novels such as the hit Image Comics environmental sci-fi series, Great Pacific, and the fan-favorite, monthly paranormal investigations of Agents Mulder and Scully in The X-Files: Season 11 for IDW.
As a young creator at Marvel Comics, Joe launched the cult-classic Spider-Man spinoff, Slingers and the Bishop: The Last X-Man series. He has written for just about all major comics publishers and characters including DC Comics, Dark Horse and others.
Harris conceived and co-wrote the screenplay for, the hit Sony Pictures horror film, Darkness Falls after his short film, Tooth Fairy was acquired by Revolution Studios and developed into a feature. He went on the co-write the politically-themed slasher movie and Fox release, The Tripper with David Arquette before returning to comics with a focus on creating original, creator-owned titles such as the Hitchcockian portrait of spontaneous human combustion, Spontaneous and the fantasy graphic novel, Wars In Toyland for Oni Press.
His supernatural thriller, Ghost Projekt was also published by Oni. The series is being actively developed for television by NBC.
Tweet your questions @graphicpolicy.
JURASSIC PARK MEETS TOP CHEF! Haunted by the death of his sister, Chef Nate Willner has lost his desire to cook. Forced to move back to his hometown in Utah and work at a coffee shop, Nate's life is quickly becoming a dead end. But when he unexpectedly inherits a time travel suit that takes him to the age of dinosaurs, Nate's passion for cooking is reignited! Voracious is the critically-acclaimed comic series by Markisan Naso and Jason Muhr which is back with its second volume Voracious: Feeding Time.
Naso and Muhr join Graphic Policy Radio with hosts Elana and Brett who are joined by GP contributor Alex.
Markisan Naso is the writer of the critically-acclaimed comic book series, VORACIOUS, published by Action Lab Entertainment. He is also an editor and publishing expert who has managed and revitalized national publications such as Knowledge Quest and School Library Research for the American Library Association, has authored more than 150 features in print and on the web, edited over a dozen books, including The Anatomy of Zur-en-Arrh: Understanding Grant Morrison’s Batman and Voyage in Noise: Warren Ellis and the Demise of Western Civilization for the Sequart Organization. In his spare time he interviews comic book creators for his podcast, COLLOQUIUM.
Jason Muhr is the artist, designer and letterer for the critically-acclaimed comic book series, VORACIOUS, published by Action Lab Entertainment. He has also worked for Marvel Comics and Valiant Entertainment, and co-created the short story “Like Giants” with Mark Waid for Thrillbent. Prior to entering the art and design world, Jason spent six years on the retail side of the comic book market, as an assistant manager at the Graham Crackers Comics chain of Chicagoland comic shops.
Tweet your questions to @graphicpolicy
E.X.O. - The Legend of Wale Williams, a superhero story set in a futuristic 2025 Africa, follows Wale Williams, an impetuous young adult who inherits a suit with super powers after his father goes missing. Tricked into returning home to Lagoon City, Nigeria following a five year absence, Wale embarks on a journey to investigate his father s mysterious disappearance. As he comes to understand the suit s powers, Wale realizes he must restore hope to his city by preventing catastrophic attacks from the sociopathic, Oniku, leader of an extremist group called The CREED.
On this episode of Graphic Policy Radio, we discuss the comic series with creator Roye Okupe.
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Okupe is a creative specialist who holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in computer science from The George Washington University. His passion for animation led him to found YouNeek Studios in 2012, an avenue that would allow him pursue his dream of creating a diverse library of superheroes. Under that umbrella, Roye wrote, produced and directed several animated productions including, but not limited to, 2D/3D animated short films, TV commercials, show openers, music videos and much more. These productions have allowed Roye to attain much prestigious recognition such as being #5 on Ventures Africa’s list of 40 African innovators to watch.
Listen in and Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
Since the election of Donald Trump as President many have been wondering what they can do to make their voice heard, get involved to fight what may be coming, and fight against the hate that's been unleashed. Many in entertainment and fandom have been voicing their displeasure with the election and are working to add not just their voices but also their talent to the mix. Joining this politically focused episode of Graphic Policy Radio is Andrew Slack, co-founder of the Harry Potter Alliance, and Rafael Shimunov, the Creative Director at Working Families Party. Both will talk about some of their plans and give ideas on how you can get involved.
Andrew Slack is the creator and co-founder of the Harry Potter Alliance, Odds In Our Favor, Superman Is An Immigrant, The Rebel Alliance, and now the Hamilton Alliance as he builds a network called imagine Better. He's the Civic Imagination Fellow at Civic Hall. His work is focused on using the power of stories to unleash the civic imagination through a methodology he calls “cultural acupuncture.” Follow him on Twitter @andrewslack.
Rafael Shimunov is the Creative Director at Working Families Party, a growing progressive party that works inside and outside of the Democratic Party by challenging corporate Democrats with progressive Democrats. Follow him on Twitter @rafaelshimunov.
We want to hear from you. Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy.
In a world that already hates and fears them – what if only Black people had superpowers?
After miraculously surviving being gunned down by police, a young man learns that he is part of the biggest lie in history. Now he must decide whether it’s safer to keep it a secret or if the truth will set him free.
This Monday we have two of the individuals behind the comic series Black on Graphic Policy Radio. Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3 will join us to talk about the series published by Black Mask Studios and which saw the second issue recently released after selling out the 22,000 copy print run of the first.
Creator and author of Black, Kwanza Osajyefo was a digital editor at both Marvel and DC Comics – best known for launching the latter's Zuda imprint, which published series like the award-winning Bayou, High Moon, Night Owls, as well as Superton, Celadore, Black Cherry Bombshells, Bottle of Awesome, and I Rule the Night.
Co-creator and designer of Black, Tim Smith 3 (A.K.A. TS3), has been working in the comic industry for over 15 years. He created and self-published Red After the Party, and has worked on hit titles for publishers such as Marvel, Archie, and DC, just to name a few!
We want to hear your questions! Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy and listen in live this Monday.
On this episode of Graphic Policy RadioTini Howard and Devaki Neogi join us to talk about their brand new comic book series The Skeptics from Black Mask Studios.
The Skeptics is a stylish, political adventure about a pair of hip, clever teens who fool the world into believing they have superpowers. It is the 1960s. The Russians have the A-bomb, the H-bomb, and now the most terrifying weapon of all: a pair of psychically superpowered young people. Terrified and desperate, the US top brass scours from coast to coast in search of psychic Americans. Enter Dr. Isobel Santaclara, an eccentric illusionist and grifter who has recruited two teenagers and trained them to trick the US government, the Russians, and the whole world into believing they are dangerous psychics. The Skeptics is a pre-punk period piece, a sort of honest, unfuzzy, non-nostalgic look at the Cold War in DC.
Writer Tini Howard debuted as a contributor to the hugely successful Kickstarter The Secret Loves Of Geek Girls and was a winner of the Top Cow Talent Hunt before co-creating The Skeptics. She is also currently killing it on Power Rangers: Pink, Magdalena, & she is 1/3 of the Black Mask Witches.
Artist Devaki Neogi is a self-taught illustrator with a background in fashion who rose to power when she crushed it on the mini-series Curb Stomp. She joined the Black Mask Family with her beloved Kim & Kim covers before co-creating The Skeptics.
We'll discuss all that and more on this brand new episode. We want to hear from you! Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
September saw the release of the first issue of Surgeon X, a new series written by Sara Kenney with art by John Watkiss. The comic series also sees the return of legendary editor Karen Berger.
The series dives into real world medicine and issues, along with a companion app, we talk to Berger about her return to comics, the challenges of this particular comic and its app, and her insights into the comic industry.
Karen is the award-winning and founding editor of the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics. As an industry leader of creative risk-taking and innovative comics storytelling in a wide range of genre fiction, Karen led Vertigo for 20 years, transforming the comics medium by publishing many of the most acclaimed and best-selling comics and graphic novels in the past two decades: Sandman, V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, Preacher, Fables, Hellblazer, Y–the Last Man, 100 Bullets, The Invisibles, and Transmetropolitan.
Twitter: @karenpberger
We want to hear from you. Tweet us your thoughts to @graphicpolicy.
Sweet Christmas! Marvel's Luke Cage has come to Netflix and is a huge hit. Given superstrength and durability by a sabotaged experiment, a wrongly accused man escapes prison to become a superhero for hire. Starring Mike Colter, the series is the latest Marvel superhero series to come to Netflix and this one touches upon real world issues like Black Lives Matter, gentrification, importing of guns into the inner city, and more. We'll be discussing it with our guests Charles Pulliam-Moore and Karama Horne.
Charles Pulliam-Moore is a blogger at Fusion where he writes about race, sexuality, and inclusion in nerd culture. Twitter is his social media drug of choice.
His work has also appeared in NPR and Slate and he agrees that Cyclops was right.
Karama Horne (a.k.a. – “the blerdgurl”) is a freelance commercial video editor by day and comic book reading, anime watching, TV live tweeting, K-Pop listening, blog writing, superhero geek gurl by night. On a mission to shine a light on both characters and sequential artists of color, she provides commentary, reviews and interviews on her popular tumblr and official website theblerdgurl.com.
After the second American Civil War, Kentucky is an occupied nation within U.S. borders. When a single father and mechanic accidentally sparks a rebellion, he finds himself on the path to becoming the first feudal warlord of Appalachia.
Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson joins Graphic Policy Radio for the first time to discuss his brand new upcoming comic book series Warlords of Appalachia being published by BOOM! Studios.
Phillip Kennedy Johnson is a musician and writer living in the Washington, DC/Baltimore region. He is the writer of the comic series Last Sons of America, The Lost Boys of the U-Boat Bremen, Killing Marcus, and the upcoming Warlords of Appalachia from BOOM! Studios. He also writes the BAND! cartoon strip for Musicomic.com.
Outside of writing, Johnson has a full-time career as a trumpet player, composer, arranger, and teacher. As a Sergeant First Class in the United States Army, he regularly tours the United States with The U.S. Army Field Band and the Federal Brass of Washington, DC. Prior to joining the Army Field Band, he toured the world with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He has also performed with the Moscow Ballet, the Dallas Opera, Washington Symphonic Brass, the Lexington Philharmonic, and the Benny Goodman Orchestra. He earned a Master of Music degree from the University of North Texas, where he served as Teaching Fellow for the Department of Jazz Studies, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Eastern Kentucky University.
Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
This Monday Graphic Policy Radio welcomes guests Collin Kelly, Marcus To, and Jackson Lanzing to discuss their creator-owned series Joyride!
In the future, Earth sucks. The stars have been blocked out for so long that people have forgotten there was anything else besides the dumb World Government Alliance watching over them, training children to join the militarized Allied Youth and eliminating all resistance with a giant ray gun. Uma Akkolyte is a girl who shoots first and leaps before she looks, and when she gets a strange message from outside the barricades of SafeSky, she jacks a spaceship and punches through the stratosphere with an unlikely crew of teens who are totally not ready for what they’re about to find.
Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly are writers with a decade of experience in a variety of mediums, from features to animation to comic books. As comics creators, Lanzing/Kelly have written for DC Entertainment, BOOM! Studios, and IDW - including Batman & Robin Eternal, Grayson, and Hacktivist. This year, they released their first creator-owned comic at BOOM! Studios, the critically-acclaimed ongoing teenage space adventure Joyride - which is now in its fifth issue.
Marcus To is a New York Times bestselling illustrator and storyteller who lives in Toronto, Canada. Throughout his career Marcus has drawn virtually every DC superhero, having worked on Red Robin, Huntress, Batwing, Flash, and Wonder Woman. He is a proud member of the RAID Studio and is currently working on his creator-owned book Joyride as well as one of the artists for Nightwing. More of his work can be found at www.marcusto.com.
This Monday writer Chelsea Cain joins Graphic Policy Radio to talk about her hit Marvel seriesMockingbird! We talk to Cain about the action-packed first solo series for the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Bobbi Morse.
Chelsea Cain is a novelist who moonlights as a comic book writer. She writes the series, MOCKINGBIRD, for Marvel. She is the author of The New York Times bestselling Archie Sheridan/Gretchen Lowell thriller series (HEARTSICK, SWEETHEART, EVIL AT HEART, THE NIGHT SEASON, KILL YOU TWICE, and LET ME GO), as well as ONE KICK, starring Kick Lannigan. Her Portland-based thrillers, described by The New York Times as "steamy and perverse," have been published in over 30 languages, recommended on “The Today Show,” and appeared in episodes of HBO’s “True Blood” and ABC’s “Castle.” Both of Cain’s thriller series are in development as TV shows. Stephen King included two of her books in his top ten favorite books of the year, and NPR named HEARTSICK one of the best 100 thrillers ever written. According to Booklist, “Popular entertainment just doesn’t get much better than this." Cain has also written a Jessica Jones story for CIVIL WAR: CHOOSING SIDES, and a story for the HELLBOY WINTER SPECIAL.
We want to hear your questions! Tweet us to them @graphicpolicy.
The Revisionist, The Precinct, Broken World, Dejah Thoris, Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D., Lobo, Dr. Strange, Avengers World, Five Ghosts, writer Frank Barbiere has written comics for almost every major comics publisher. His comics are always high on action and fun bringing crazy ideas to the page and entertain. This Monday Barbiere joins Graphic Policy Radio to talk about his comic career and upcoming comic series Violent Love which reteams him with artist Victor Santos and out this November from Image Comics.
Barbiere is a graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in English & Creative Writing, as well as a Master's in English Education.
Barbiere exploded onto the mainstream comics scene in 2013 with the indie hit Five Ghosts (Image Comics) and in his short time in the industry has worked for BOOM! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics.
Join us this Monday as we talk to Frank and Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
Graphic Policy Radio is back with a brand new episode. Tonight we're joined by one of the most distinctive new artists in comics, Ramon Villalobos.
Villalobos is the penciler on Marvel's Nighthawk ongoing and also drew the X-Men centric E is for Extinction series for last year's Marvel event Secret Wars.
We'll get the scoop on his creative ability and process while working on such high-profile comic series.
We want to hear from you! Ask your questions by Tweeting them to us @graphicpolicy.
This weekend is Flame Con, a two-day comics, arts, and entertainment expo showcasing creators and celebrities from all corners of LGBTQ geek fandom. It features thoughtful discussions, exclusive performances, screenings, costumes, and more! This week Graphic Policy Radio will be chatting with Rachel from Geeks Out, the amazing organization behind this new Brooklyn-based convention.
Tickets to Flame Con are onsale now at http://www.flamecon.org. And our own Elana Levin's panel will be Sunday at 2pm.
Rachel Greeman is a board member for Geeksout, a Flame Con organizer, and an obsessive cosplayer. Also, she has great hair.
Find out about this fantastic convention and Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
Who Is Superwoman? This Monday, writer and artist Phil Jimenez comes to Graphic Policy Radio to talk about the new DC Comics series that debuts this week, Superwoman!
Lois Lane now has the powers and abilities of Superman and pledges to carry out his legacy. There's a problem: Lois’ new powers are killing her.
We'll talk about what we can expect from this brand new series that's part of DC Comics' "Rebirth," as well as Jimenez's career.
Phil Jimenez is an award-winning writer and artist who has worked for DC Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment for the over 25 years. Best known for his work on Tempest, JLA/Titans, Planetary/Authority; The Invisibles, New-X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, Wonder Woman, Infinite Crisis, Amazing Spider-Man, Adventure Comics, The Transformers, DC: Rebirth, Superwoman, and his creator-owned project Otherworld, Jimenez has also worked in film, television, print media, and in design/packaging. He has created large-scale artworks for schools and museums, lectured at universities and the Library of Congress on identity and diversity in entertainment, and mentors young designers at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. Considered the most prominent gay creators in mainstream comics, Jimenez also teaches life drawing at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. FB, Instagram, and Twitter @Philjimeneznyc
Listen in and Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
It's been a week since it wrapped up and Graphic Policy Radio is heading back west to discuss San Diego Comic-Con 2016.
San Diego Comic-Con is the biggest entertainment convention of the year featuring movies, television, comics, games, and more. Attracting hundreds of thousands of individuals, the convention can make and break entertainment launching over the next year and has become a vital convention to promote what's to come.
We'll be discussing the convention as a whole, some of the top announcements, and what's to come as far as coverage on graphicpolicy.com.
We always want to hear from you too. Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy.
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio and we welcome back comic writer Jeremy Whitley. Whitley will be discussing his numerous projects including a story in Civil War II: Choosing Sides, Princeless, and this year's Unstoppable Wasp from Marvel Comics!
Jeremy Whitley is the creator of the original comic series Princeless, Illegal, and The Order of Dagonet. His work has been nominated for two Eisner Awards, Five Glyph Awards, and numerous other honors. In addition to his original creations, he has also been a regular writer for IDW’s My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and My Little Pony: Friends Forever series as well as Action Lab’s NFL Rush Zone and GlobWorld comic series.
Jeremy has been at the forefront of changing trends in the comic industry, and a leader for diversity in both creators and characters.
Listen in and Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy!
This past week Marvel announced that Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man will be replaced with a young African-American girl named Riri Williams. The announcement was met with both praise and criticism by the public. Graphic Policy Radio dives into the topic with guests Regine L. Sawyer and Karama Horne (a.k.a. the blerdgurl).
Riri Williams is a 15-year-old African American girl and will be taking over for Tony Stark in the fall, but while Marvel has upped diversity on the page, there are still major issues when it comes to the hiring of creators. We discuss this and more!
Regine L. Sawyer is the Owner/Writer at Lockett Down Productions Publications. She is also the Coordinator & Founder of Women in Comics Collective International.
Karama Horne (a.k.a. – “the blerdgurl”) is a freelance commercial video editor by day and comic book reading, anime watching, TV live tweeting, K-Pop listening, blog writing, superhero geek gurl by night. On a mission to shine a light on both characters and sequential artists of color, she provides commentary, reviews and interviews on her popular tumblr and official website theblerdgurl.com.
This week we're joined by writer Magdalene Visaggio to talk about Kim & Kim-- her debut comics series from Black Mask Studios. A story of bff bounty hunters in space, it's been described as Cowboy BeBop meets Broad City.
Magdalene Visaggio is considerably less metal than she lets on. Born in Long Island, she was raised in Richmond, Virginia before returning to New York after college. She's a professional marketing writer and has pursued graduate work in the study of moral philosophy. She seriously loves riot grrrl music and the Beatles. She has a deeply unhealthy attachment to Star Trek.
Visaggio lives in Manhattan with her wife Eowyn.
Listen in on a special episode on Thursday and Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
Graphic Policy Radio has assembled a roundtable to talk the hit AMC television show based on the modern classic Vertigo comic series, Preacher. Joining hosts Elana and Brett are two guests, Sarah Rasher and Kalyn.
Based on the comic series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, Preacher is an adaptation of the popular comic series that follows the small town preacher Jesse Custer with a mysterious past infused with the word of God. Joining him are Tulip, a friend of Jesse, who's as tough as she is fast talking, and Cassidy an Irish vampire.
How does the show differ from the comic? We'll discuss that and more.
Sarah Rasher forced all her friends to read Preacher in college and is looking forward to making them all watch the TV show now. She has a Ph.D. in Shakespeare but now devotes her days to proving that education works and her evenings to blogging about figure skating. She is @pas_dechat on Twitter.
Kalyn is a contributor to Graphic Policy and the site's lawyer. She's providing a Texan perspective on the show.
We want to hear from you! Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy.
Graphic Policy Radio has a brand new episode and we're talking some recent comic releases. This week, the comics world saw controversy as Marvel releases Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 where it was revealed that Rogers has been a Hydra sleeper agent. It's supposed to be a take on the "current zeitgeist." Juxtapose with Nighthawk #1 which was alos released the same week and had the title character taking on real world social issues. One made news, the other did not.
We'll discuss that as well as the first two issues of Black Panther and DC Comics' DC Universe: Rebirth #1. It's a comic book filled episode!
We want to hear what you think too. Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy.
Graphic Policy Radio talks Captain America: Civil War diving deep into the politics. Joining hosts Brett and Elana is frequent guest and Graphic Policy contributor Steven Attewell as well as return guest Amanda Marcotte. Marcotte recently wrote for Salon arguing Captain America is now an Ayn Rand acolyte. Attewell in 2013 wrote in Lawyers, Guns, & Money that Captain America is a New Deal Democrat. We'll discuss both and more!
You can listen to the first part with Steven discussing the film and comics here.
Amanda Marcotte is a politics writer for Salon. In the past, she’s covered liberal politics and feminism for Slate, the Rolling Stone, USA Today and many other publications.
Steven Attewell wrote that article everyone quotes about Captain America being a New Deal Democrat and can tell you which specific New Deal jobs program Steve Rogers worked for before he joined Project Rebirth. He teaches public policy at CUNY’s Murphy Institute for Labor Studies. He is the founder of Race for the Iron Throne.
We also want to know who you stand with! Tweet us your thoughts and questions @graphicpolicy.
Graphic Policy Radio talks Captain America: Civil War in light of both the movie and the comics that inspired it-- or didn't. Joining hosts Brett and Elana is frequent guest and Graphic Policy contributor Steve Attewell.
Steven Attewell wrote that article everyone quotes about Captain America being a New Deal Democrat and can tell you which specific New Deal jobs program Steve Rogers worked for before he joined Project Rebirth. He teaches public policy at CUNY’s Murphy Institute for Labor Studies. He is the founder of Race for the Iron Throne.
We also want to know who you stand with! Tweet us your thoughts and questions @graphicpolicy.
Matthew Rosenberg is coming to Graphic Policy Radio! Hosts Elana and Brett are joined by Rosenberg to talk about his career in comics, his comic series 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank and We Can Never Go Home from Black Mask Studios, what it's like to write a certain Kingpin of crime for Marvel.
Matthew Rosenberg was born and raised in New York City. The son, nephew, and brother of writers, he naturally spent the first 10 years of his professional life trying to avoid the same fate as them. After years of directing music videos, managing a print shop, touring the world managing bands, working at a comic shop, and co-owning a small indie record label, the fates have finally left him two choices; write comics professionally or starve to death trying. Armed only with his freakish knowledge of all things comic book and a complete lack of desire to do anything else, Matthew now finds himself a comic writer. You can follow him on Twitter @AshcanPress.
We also want to hear what you have to say and what's on your mind. Tweet us questions @graphicpolicy.
Graphic Policy has a brand new episode with guest Joseph Illidge. Joseph joins Brett and Elana to discuss the upcoming Solarman from Scout Comics as well as his impressive career.
After a twenty-five year hiatus Solarman returns! Ben Tucker is a teenage hacker going after the wealthy and corrupt, fighting bullies, and living in his father's basement. When a mysterious alien attacks a space station conducting secret experiments, Ben is accidentally exposed to extraterrestrial technology and imbued with nuclear-based power. Now Ben Tucker is a fugitive from the police, an alien menace, and a paramilitary division hunting him down, with the intention to capture...or kill.
Joseph Phillip Illidge is a public speaker on the subjects of race, comics and the corporate politics of diversity. In addition to his coverage by The New York Times, CNN Money, the BBC and Publishers Weekly, Joseph has been a speaker at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Digital Book World’s forum, Digitize Your Career: Marketing and Editing 2.0, Skidmore College, The School of Visual Arts, Purdue University, on the panel “Diversity in Comics: Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Sexual Orientation in American Comic Books” and at the Soho Gallery for Digital Art in New York City.
Joseph is the Head Writer for Verge Entertainment. His graphic novel project, “The Ren,” about the romance between a young musician from the South and a Harlem-born dancer in 1925, set against the backdrop of a crime war, will be published by First Second Books, a division of Macmillan.
This Monday Graphic Policy Radio welcomes first time guest Steve Lieber to talk about his comic career and his current comic series The Fix published by Image Comics. Released last Wednesday, The Fix has sold out and is going back to print. The series is a story of "crooked cops, scheming mobsters, and corrupt politicians that run things - and the sex toy that can bring them all down." Lieber will join hosts Brett and Elana to discuss the new series which has been praised by fans and critics alike.
Steve Lieber studied art at the Joe Kubert School. His comics have been published by DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, Valiant and many other publishers, but he’s best known for his work on Whiteout, a graphic novel adapted as a feature film, and Superior Foes of Spider-Man, a cult favorite published by Marvel. His current project is The Fix at Image comics.
His various projects have received nine Eisner Award nominations, and he won the Eisner for Best Limited Series for Whiteout Volume 2: Melt. Steve’s a founding member of Periscope Studio, the largest studio of comic book artists in North America. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Sara Ryan.
We want to hear from you! Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio and we're going back to Hell's Kitchen to discuss the second season of Marvel and Netflix's Daredevil. Hosts Brett and Elana will be joined by regular guests, and returning to discuss Daredevil, Scott Eric Kaufman and Spencer Ackerman.
Matt/Daredevil, Karen, Foggy are back and joined by classic Marvel characters the Punisher and Elektra who are all up against a classic group of Daredevil villains. We're talking the entire second season, what worked and what didn't.
Spencer Ackerman is US national security editor for the Guardian. Ackerman was part of the Guardian team that won the 2014 Pulitzer prize for public service journalism for reporting on Edward Snowden's disclosures of widespread NSA surveillance. A former senior writer for Wired, he won the 2012 National Magazine Award for digital reporting. Follow him @attackerman.
Scott Eric Kaufman is an assistant editor at Salon. He wrote a dissertation about non-Darwinian evolutionary theory in American popular culture and taught at a university, but then thought better of it. He is also the proprietor of the AV Club's Internet Film School and a contributor at Lawyers, Guns & Money. Follow him at @scottekaufman
We want to hear from you too. Tweet us @graphicpolicy.
March is Women's History Month and we're wrapping it up by discussing women in comics! Graphic Policy Radio's regular hosts Elana and Brett are joined by site contributor Madison Butler to talk about female comic creators, female characters, and comics you should be checking out!
Madison Butler is a writer for Graphic Policy and Geek Girl Gang. She spends much of her free time reading comics and the rest of it writing about them. She also enjoys crafts and pretends to enjoy running and can be found on Twitter at @madisonrbutler.
We want to hear from you too! Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy.
The finale of season 6 of Venture Bros. gets the Graphic Policy Radio treatment! All obscure references explained! From defunct NYC nightclubs to Edgar Allan Poe to super-powered Nazis.
Join pop culture and history experts Steven Attewell (whose secret identity is that he’s an actual historian) and Elana Levin (who's secret identity is that she used to go clubbing) discuss Venture Bros episode 8 “Red Means Stop“.
This Monday is a brand new episode that continues the discussion from last week. We're continuing to discuss DC Comics' Rebirth as well as the focus on Legacy characters versus creating all new ones or focusing on lesser known ones.
DC's Rebith is their latest initiate that will build off of the concepts of Green Lantern: Rebirth and The Flash: Rebirth, expanding it to the whole line blending what's come before and what's to come. But, does focusing on legacy characters alienate new readers? Does focusing on new characters alienate long time readers?
We'll discuss that and more!
Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy
As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a Venture Brothers podcaster. After our deep dive into Warholiana last episode, Elana and Steve are back to discuss Martin Scorsese, 70s serial killers, the political economy of supervillainy, and Christopher Motherfucking Lambert.
In this podcast we continue to explore the series as pop culture history geeks, drawing out themes and references present in each episode. Steven is a Professor of US history. Elana writes about comics, worked in NYC politics and is qualified to evaluate the success of musical pastiches in numerous genres.
Graphic Policy Radio is back for a brand new episode and we're talking DC Comics' next big initiative, Rebirth which kicks off May 25 with the 80 page DC Universe: Rebirth Special.
While we don't know specifics, what has been described is a blending of the old and the new for some new life in the DC Universe and a whole new line of comics kicking off with brand new first issues.
We'll begin to find out creative teams for these new series on March 26, but we'll be playing a fantasy draft of sorts discussing creative teams we want to see on each series.
We'll also discuss the role of "legacy" when it comes to characters and series.
Join us and we want to hear from you! Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy!
Science Fiction Double Feature! After a week off, Elana and Steven are covering the fifth and sixth episodes of Season 6 of the Venture Brothers: "Tanks for Nothing" and "It Happening One Night."
In this podcast we continue to explore the series as pop culture history geeks, drawing out themes and references present in each episode. Steven is a Professor of US history. Elana has a BA in Studied Warhol A Lot (came in handy for episode 6). Expect more then 15 minutes of expertise.
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio at a special time. Joining us is first time guest Royden Lepp who comes on to discuss Rust: The Boy Soldier out March 23 from Archaia and BOOM! Studios.
Rust tells the story of a mysterious boy with a jet pack who shows up on a farm while the world heals from a devastating war. Boy Soldier collects the never-before-seen prelude to the upcoming Rust Vol. 4 plus the preludes to the three existing volumes, which are being reprinted in softcover as well.
Lepp was born and raised on the Canadian prairies. He was kicked out of math class for animating in the corner of a textbook, and he failed art class for drawing comics instead of following the class curriculum. He now draws comics and works as an animator in the video game industry.
We discuss Rust and more this Monday and we want to hear from you! Tweet us your questions to @graphicpolicy.
Love the Venture Bros cartoon but afraid of missing the myriad of historical references and layers of meaning behind each episode? Join pop culture and history experts Elana Levin and Steven Attewell (whose secret identity is that he’s an actual historian) for our Podcast examining each episode of Season 6 of this hit Adult Swim show.
This episode is about Season 6 Episode 4: “Rapacity In Blue“.
The Venture Bros. cartoon on Adult Swim references everything from Hannah-Barbara to Marvel, David Bowie to the Big Bopper, cult cinema, Oscar Wilde to Henry Kissinger. The show’s central theme is failure– the reality of life after the promises and optimism of the 60s space age have faded. But also the positive value of failure as a way to learn and grow, of making unpleasant realities better, and ultimately whether you can learn to keep the joyfulness of youth without its illusions.
This Monday sees the return of comic writer Kieron Gillen to Graphic Policy Radio.
Kieron Gillen first came to attention in his 2006 collaboration with Jamie McKelvie, Phonogram. Jamie and he have yet to escape each other, and have somehow roped the otherwise innocent Matt Wilson into this unfortunate pop-comics Katamari. Their most successful work is their 2014 ongoing series, The Wicked + The Divine. Kieron's other books for Image include Three and the forthcoming The Ludocrats. His other books include many titles published by Marvel (featuring characters you've probably heard of) and Avatar (featuring characters you probably haven't.) He lives in London.
This Monday he talks his career, music, and more!
Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
Love the Venture Bros cartoon but afraid of missing the myriad of historical references and layers of meaning behind each episode? Join pop culture and history experts Elana Levin and Steven Attewell (whose secret identity is that he's an actual historian) for our Podcast examining each episode of Season 6 of this hit Adult Swim show.
Tonight's episode is about Season 6 Episode 3: “Faking Miracles“.
The Venture Bros. cartoon on Adult Swim references everything from Hannah-Barbara to Marvel, David Bowie to the Big Bopper, cult cinema, Oscar Wilde to Henry Kissinger. The show’s central theme is failure– the reality of life after the promises and optimism of the 60s space age have faded. But also the positive value of failure as a way to learn and grow, of making unpleasant realities better, and ultimately whether you can learn to keep the joyfulness of youth without its illusions.
Are you jonesing for Jessica Jones? We know we are! Jonesing for Jessica discusses the hit Marvel and Netflix show Jessica Jones episode by episode. Graphic Policy Radio hosts Brett and Elana are discussing the series and are joined each week by special guests. For this episode the team is joined bySean T. Collins to discuss the final episode of the first season "AKA Smile."
Jessica and Luke get help from someone else in the neighborhood. Kilgrave gears up for a major test of powers against Jessica.
Sean T. Collins is a writer and critic whose work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vulture, the New York Observer, Grantland, Vice, Wired, The Comics Journal, and others. His comics have been published by Marvel, Top Shelf, Study Group, and Youth in Decline. He lives with his partner, the cartoonist Julia Gfrörer, and their children on Long Island.
Back by Popular Demand Elana and Steven dive in to the second episode of The Venture Bros. called "Maybe No Go". The Venture Bros. cartoon on Adult Swim references everything from Hannah-Barbara to Marvel, David Bowie to the Big Bopper, cult cinema, Oscar Wilde to Henry Kissinger. The show’s central theme is failure-- the reality of life after the promises and optimism of the 60s space age have faded. But also the positive value of failure as a way to learn and grow, of making unpleasant realities better, and ultimately whether you can learn to keep the joyfulness of youth without its illusions.
In this podcast episode Elana and Steven continue to explore the series as pop culture history geeks, talking about the latest episode, drawing out themes and references.
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio, the show that mixes comics and politics. For this episode we're welcoming first time guest Karama Horne, aka "the blerdgurl" to talk comics and more!
Karama Horne (a.k.a. - “the blerdgurl”) is a freelance commercial video editor by day and comic book reading, anime watching, TV live tweeting, K-Pop listening, blog writing, superhero geek gurl by night. On a mission to shine a light on both characters and sequential artists of color, she provides commentary, reviews and interviews on her popular tumblr and official website theblerdgurl.com.
One of her most popular posts, “25 Reasons Why You’re Not Making Money at Comic Cons” went viral in 2015 and received over 23K pageviews in 3 days. She has been quoted on popular media sites like Comics Alliance, Comic Book Resources and The Beat. Her writing has been featured on Black Girl Nerds, The Mary Sue and PeepGame Comix.
When Karama’s not writing or editing, she’s fixing up her century old brownstone in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn that she shares with her two cats who plot her demise daily. You can find the blerdgurl on twitter, facebook, instagram and tumblr.
The Venture Brothers cartoon on Adult Swim references everything from Hannah-Barbara to Marvel, Led Zeppelin to the Big Bopper, cult cinema and even Oscar Wilde. The show’s central theme is failure-- the reality of life after the promises and optimism of the 60s space age have faded. But also the positive value of failure as a way to learn and grow, of making unpleasant realities better, and ultimately whether you can learn to keep the joyfulness of youth without its illusions.
In this podcast episode Elana and Steve explore the series as pop culture history geeks, talking about the episodes, drawing out themes and references.
Are you jonesing for Jessica Jones? We know we are! Jonesing for Jessica discusses the hit Marvel and Netflix show Jessica Jones episode by episode. Graphic Policy Radio hosts Brett and Elana are discussing the series and are joined each week by special guests. For this episode the team is joined by Kendra James and Darryl Ayo to discuss the twelfth episode "AKA Take a Bloody Number."
The hunt for Kilgrave reunites Jessica with Luke. Trish receives some unexpected information about Simpson and Jessica.
Double majoring in Cinema Studies and Anthropology, Kendra James graduated from Oberlin College in 2010 and immediately started working in talent management in NYC. When running a blog chronicling her horrible first "real job" experience got boring, she started searching for a writing outlet similar to the ones she'd had in college. That led to a position as the lead Television Correspondent with Racialicious.com (the foremost blog about the intersection of race and pop culture on the web) beginning in 2011. Her writing has been referenced by Gawker, Jezebel, Clutch Magazine, The Root, The Atlantic Wire, and The New York Times.
Since 2002, New York cartoonist Darryl Ayo has self-published minicomics, webcomics, anthology stories and comics criticism. Ayo's most known work, Little Garden has evolved and grown into and through several permutations and can be seen in its current form at littlegardencomics.com
Ayo, is also a commentator, blogging and on comic fandom.
Are you jonesing for Jessica Jones? We know we are! Jonesing for Jessica discusses the hit Marvel and Netflix show Jessica Jones episode by episode. Graphic Policy Radio hosts Brett and Elana are discussing the series and are joined each week by special guests. For this episode the team is joined by Oliver Sava to discuss the eleventh episode "AKA I've Got the Blues."
Jessica searches morgues for clues. Trish goes all out to keep Simpson from getting in Jessica's way. Malcolm has an epiphany.
Oliver Sava is a Chicago-based Eisner Award-nominated writer that primarily covers comic books and TV for The A.V. Club, where he writes episodic reviews for all of Marvel's TV series. He's written about comic books for The L.A. Times and NPR Books and theater for The Chicago Tribune, Time Out Chicago, and Chicago Theater Beat. He's also currently working as the dramaturg on an upcoming Chicago play, Prowess, about Chicagoans becoming vigilantes as a way of coping with their PTSD.
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio and joining us are the team behind the webcomic Bash Back. The comic is described as "a story of the Queer Mafia" from the minds and creativity of writers Kelsey Hercs and Lawrence Gullo and artist Fyodor Pavlov. The webcomic is updated each Monday.
After thousands of years of bloodshed, torment, and ridicule, now is the time to take what is ours. Bash Back comic is a cathartic, hyper-violent, contemporary queer revenge fantasy.
Kelsey Hercs is a playwright and performer based in New York City. Bash Back is her first foray into writing for comics, and she is thrilled that this project is the one she's cutting her comic-writing teeth on.
Russian emigre Fyodor Pavlov is a freelance illustrator, comic artist and smut peddler. In print, Pavlov’s work can be found in Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, The Ouroboros Cycle, Queerotica: A Comics Anthology, and more. His latest comics foray is the art of Bash Back. Together with his husband and creative partner Lawrence Gullo, he co-directs Dr. Sketchy's NYC, throws costume parties and raises a very spoiled cat.
Lawrence Gullo - Writer, colorist, and graphic design for Bash Back. Artist and performance artist. Speaker on transgender issues.
We want to hear your questions. Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy.
Are you jonesing for Jessica Jones? We know we are! Jonesing for Jessica discusses the hit Marvel and Netflix show Jessica Jones episode by episode. Graphic Policy Radio hosts Brett and Elana are discussing the series and are joined each week by special guests. For this episode the team is joined by Danielle Paige to discuss the tenth episode "AKA 1,000 Cuts."
A discovery has the potential to change the entire game -- if Jessica can refuse Kilgrave's offer.
Danielle Paige is the New York Times bestselling author of Dorothy Must Die, its upcoming sequel The Wicked Will Rise, and the upcoming Stealing Snow series (Bloomsbury, 2016). In addition to writing young adult books, she works in the television industry, where she's received a Writers Guild of America Award and was nominated for several Daytime Emmys. She is a graduate of Columbia University and currently lives in New York City. You can find her on twitter and instagram.
Faith is the first comic to star a plus-sized superhero! Graphic Policy Radio welcomes special guest, writer Jody Houser who is part of the team at Valiant Comics bringing Faith to life in one of the year's most anticipated comics.
Jody Houser earned her MFA in Creative Writing at Emerson College in Boston, where she completed her master's thesis in screenwriting and was a winner of the Rod Parker Fellowship for Playwriting.
She began experimenting with webcomics in 2006 and is the creator behind the webcomic Cupcake POW!, which has updated weekly since 2010 and is currently available on comiXology Submit.
Jody has been a contributing writer to numerous comic anthologies including Womanthology: Heroic and Womanthology: Space from IDW, CMYK: Magenta from Vertigo, and Avengers: No More Bullying from Marvel, as well as Dead Roots and Rise: Comics Against Bullying. Recently, Jody has written Orphan Black for IDW and Agent May for Marvel.
Faith was the break out star of Valiant's Harbinger. A psionically gifted “psiot” she has always aspired to greatness. Now this once-ordinary teenager is taking control of her destiny and becoming the hard-hitting hero she’s always known she can be – complete with a mild-mannered secret identity, unsuspecting colleagues, and a day job as a reporter that routinely throws her into harm’s way! Well, at least she thought it would… When she’s not typing up listicles about cat videos, Faith makes a secret transformation to patrol the night as the City of Angels’ own leading superhero – the sky-soaring Zephyr! But flying solo is going to be tougher than she ever thought.
Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
Are you jonesing for Jessica Jones? We know we are! Jonesing for Jessica discusses the hit Marvel and Netflix show Jessica Jones episode by episode. Graphic Policy Radio hosts Brett and Elana are discussing the series and are joined each week by special guests. For this episode the team is joined by Steven Attewell and Arturo R. Garcia to discuss the ninth episode "AKA Sin Bin."
Just when Jessica has Kilgrave right where she wants him, Hogarth's involvement complicates the situation. Details of Kilgrave's past emerge.
Steve got his PhD in the History of Public Policy from the University of California, Santa Barbara and teaches public policy at CUNY's Murphy Institute for Labor Studies. He is the founder and writer of Race for the Iron Throne, which examines Game of Thrones and the A Song of Ice and Fire book series from a historical and political perspective. His essays have been published in Esquire, Salon and in two books on the subject. He co-hosts the Game of Thrones Podcast for Lawyers Guns and Money.
Arturo R. Garcia is the managing editor of Racialicious and an editor for The Raw Story -- but before all of that, he was a comics geek and a Rocky Horror Picture Show alumnus. Born in Tijuana and based out of San Diego, he's covered everything from Comic-Con to the DNC and Black Lives Matter protests.
Are you jonesing for Jessica Jones? We know we are! Jonesing for Jessica discusses the hit Marvel and Netflix show Jessica Jones episode by episode. Graphic Policy Radio hosts Brett and Elana are discussing the series and are joined each week by special guests. For this week's episode the team is joined by Sarah Jaffe and Amanda Mayer to discuss the eighth episode "AKA WWJD?."
Jessica experiences a strange homecoming courtesy of Kilgrave. Hogarth's conflict with her estranged wife reaches a tipping point.
Sarah Jaffe is a reporting fellow at the Nation Institute and a giant nerd who once upon a time wrote about comics more than she wrote about politics, believe it or not, and she has lots of feelings about superhero movies AND their politics. Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/sarahljaffe
Amanda Mayer is a writer, performer, and director living in NYC. She can currently be seen playing with the musical improv team Goats every Tuesday night at the Magnet Theater. She is also sometimes a lawyer.
So listen in, and join us in the conversation. Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy.
It's a new year and that means "best of" lists are flooding the internet as folks say what they think topped 2015. The Graphic Policy Radio team of Brett and Elana this Monday discuss what they think are the best comics and graphic novels of 2015!
Didn't get to read a lot of comics? Wondering what you might have missed? Thinking about where to start in 2016? This is the show for you to get ideas as to some of the comics that topped last year.
We of course want to hear from you too! Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy
Are you jonesing for Jessica Jones? We know we are! Jonesing for Jessica discusses the hit Marvel and Netflix show Jessica Jones episode by episode. Graphic Policy Radio hosts Brett and Elana are discussing the series and are joined each week by special guests. For this week's episode the team is joined by Jaclyn Friedman to discuss the seventh episode "AKA Top Shelf Perverts."
Malcom, Simpson and Trish go rogue to prevent Jessica from carrying out an extreme plan to outwit Kilgrave.
Friedman’s work has redefined the concept of “healthy sexuality” and popularized the “yes means yes” standard of sexual consent that is quickly becoming law on many US campuses.
She's written multiple books, and is a popular speaker on campuses and at conferences across the U.S. and beyond. She has appeared as a guest on PBS News Hour, MSNBC’s the Melissa Harris-Perry Show, the BBC and numerous other radio and television shows, and her commentary has appeared in outlets including CNN, Time, The Washington Post, The Nation, Jezebel and The Huffington Post.
Friedman is a founder and the former Executive Director of Women, Action & the Media, where she led the successful #FBrape campaign to apply Facebook’s hate-speech ban to content that promotes gender-based violence. She is also a charter member of CounterQuo, a coalition dedicated to challenging the ways we respond to sexual violence. Friedman holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College.
Are you jonesing for Jessica Jones? We know we are! Jonesing for Jessica discusses the hit Marvel and Netflix show Jessica Jones episode by episode. Graphic Policy Radio hosts Brett and Elana are discussing the series and are joined each week by special guests. For this week's episode the team is joined by Sarah McCarry and Elle Collins to discuss the sixth episode "AKA You're a Winner!"
McCarry (The Rejectionist/@therejectionist) is the author of the novels All Our Pretty Songs, Dirty Wings, and About A Girl, and the editor and publisher of the chapbook series Guillotine. Her books have been nominated for the Norton Award and shortlisted for the Tiptree award, and she is the recipient of a fellowship from the MacDowell Colony. She has written for the New York Times Book Review, Glamour, Book Riot, Tor.com, and others.
Sarah was a full-time advocate and case manager in domestic violence shelters for over a decade; she's currently the Media Co-Coordinator for The Doula Project, a volunteer-run New-York based organization that provides free compassionate care to people across the spectrum of pregnancy, including birth, miscarriage, and abortion.
Elle is a writer and podcaster from the Appalachian region. Elle hosts Into It, a podcast about positivity and pop culture, as well as co-hosting the upcoming Hard Times Podcast, a queer feminist podcast about professional wrestling. Elle is a contributor at ComicsAlliance.com, as well as a staff member of Switchback Books, a feminist poetry press.
Are you jonesing for Jessica Jones? We know we are! Jonesing for Jessica discusses the hit Marvel and Netflix show Jessica Jones episode by episode.
Graphic Policy Radio hosts Brett and Elana are discussing the series episode by episode and are joined each week by special guests. For this week's episode the team is joined by Logan Dalton and Janine Fleri to discuss the fifth episode of Jessica Jones "AKA The Sandwich Saved Me."
Despite Jessica's objections, Trish's new friend Simpson gets involved in the hunt for Kilgrave. Jessica recalls a pivotal moment in her life.
Logan is a nerdy, bisexual ginger, who recently graduated university with a degree in English Literature and Overanalyzing Comic Books. He is the comics editor for Canadian pop culture site Popoptiq.com and writes about them for therainbowhub.com. His favorite superhero is Kitty Pryde, and his favorite current comic is The Wicked + The Divine.
He is currently writing about Jessica Jones in his weekly column Investigating Alias, an issue by issue look at the original comic in which she appeared
Janine holds a BA in film studies and creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College and an MA in Media Studies from the New School. In addition to a day job that utilizes neither of these degrees she is co-founder and event host for the Green Mountain Gore Society, a cult, horror, and B-movie appreciation community in Burlington, VT.
Are you jonesing for Jessica Jones? We know we are! Jonesing for Jessica discusses the hit Marvel and Netflix show Jessica Jones episode by episode.
Graphic Policy Radio hosts Brett and Elana are discussing the series episode by episode and are joined each week by special guests. For this week's episode the team is joined by Scott Eric Kaufman and Sarah Rasher to dicuss the fourth episode of Jessica Jones "AKA 99 Friends."
In the fourth episode a new case demands attention as Jessica tries to find out who's spying on her for Kilgrave. Trish's radio show yields unexpected consequences.
Scott is an assistant editor at Salon. He taught at a university, but then thought better of it. Follow him at @scottekaufman.
Sarah is, among other things, a freelance writer based in Chicago. You can follow her on Twitter at @pas_dechat and read her opinions on figure skating and football at http://thefinersports.sportsblog.com.
Marvel's Jessica Jones is the newest comic character to be adapted from comics to a live action series on Netflix. After a tragic ending to her short-lived Super Hero stint, Jessica is rebuilding her personal life & career as a private detective in Hell’s Kitchen. It’s time the world knew her name…
In the third episode of the show it won't be easy to acquire or deploy. but Jessica thinks she's found a weapon to use against Kilgrave. Luke and Jessica bond over their similarities.
Hosts Brett & Elana will discuss each episode one by one with special guests joining in. For this episode they'll be joined by Amanda Marcotte.
Marcotte is a politics writer for Salon. In the past, she's covered liberal politics and feminism for Slate, the Rolling Stone, USA Today and many other publications. You can follow her on Twitter @amandamarcotte. Her interests include Game of Thrones, vinyl collecting, and comic books, mostly Marvel, though she was Batgirl for Halloween.
Marvel's Jessica Jones is the newest comic character to be adapted from comics to a live action series on Netflix. After a tragic ending to her short-lived Super Hero stint, Jessica is rebuilding her personal life & career as a private detective in Hell’s Kitchen. It’s time the world knew her name…
In the second episode of the show Jessica vows to prove Hope's innocence, even though it means tracking down a terrifying figure from her own past.
Hosts Brett & Elana will discuss each episode one by one with special guests joining in. For this episode they'll be joined by Alyssa Rosenberg.
Alyssa Rosenberg is the culture columnist for the Opinions section of The Washington Post.
This Monday sees a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio with a special guest Marjorie Liu who makes her first time appearance on the show to discuss her newest comic series Monstress, her career, and more!
New York Times bestselling and award-winning writer Marjorie Liu is best known for her fiction and comic books. She teaches comic book writing at MIT, and she leads a class on Popular Fiction at the Voices of Our Nation (VONA) workshop.
Ms. Liu is a highly celebrated comic book writer. Her extensive work with Marvel includes the bestselling Dark Wolverine series, NYX: No Way Home, X-23, and Black Widow: The Name of the Rose. She received national media attention for Astonishing X-Men, which featured the gay wedding of X-Man Northstar and was subsequently nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for outstanding media images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Ms. Liu also wrote the story for the animated film, Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and Punisher, which was produced by Marvel, Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) Inc., and Madhouse Inc.
Her newest work is Monstress is an original, creator-owned comic book series with Japanese artist (and X-23 collaborator) Sana Takeda.The series is set in an alternate, matriarchal 1920’s Asia and follows a girl’s struggle to survive the trauma of war. With a cast of girls and monsters and set against a richly imagined aesthetic of art deco-inflected steampunk, the first issue was an instant hit.
On top of that Ms. Liu is also the author of more than 19 novels, is a frequent lecturer and guest speaker, and was previously a lawyer.
We want to hear from you too! Tweet us your questions to @graphicpolicy.com.
Marvel's Jessica Jones is the newest comic character to be adapted from comics to a live action series on Netflix. After a tragic ending to her short-lived Super Hero stint, Jessica is rebuilding her personal life & career as a private detective in Hell’s Kitchen. It’s time the world knew her name…
In the first episode of the show Jones is hired to find a pretty NYU student who's vanished, but it turns out to be more than a simple missing persons case.
Hosts Brett & Elana will discuss each episode one by one with special guests joining in. For this episode they'll be joined by Sarah Jaffe & Steven Attewell.
Jaffe is a reporting fellow at the Nation Institute & a giant nerd who once upon a time wrote about comics more than she wrote about politics, believe it or not, and she has lots of feelings about superhero movies AND their politics. She is working on her first book which is about social movements since the financial crisis & will be released next August from Nation Books. Follow her on Twitter.
Attewell is a political & union activist. He got his PhD in Policy History from the University of California, Santa Barbara & teaches public policy at CUNY's Murphy Institute for Labor Studies. His essays have appeared in Esquire, Salon & two books on the subject. He co-hosts the Game of Thrones Podcast & is the founder & writer of Race for the Iron Throne.
Journalist, filmmaker, educator, comic book writer, and author, David F. Walker has had an amazing career and makes his first time appearance as a guest on Graphic Policy Radio.
Walker has been nominated for an Eisner Award for his work as the English language writer on the critically acclaimed manga series Tokyo Tribes, he is the author of the Young Adult series The Adventures of Darius Logan, and co-writer of the Dark Horse Comics series Number 13. Walker’s other work in comics includesCyborg (DC), Shaft (Dynamite), The Army of Dr. Moreau (IDW/Monkeybrain), and The Supernals Experiment (Canon Comics). Next year he will be writing Power Man and Iron Fist for Marvel.
He's a leading scholar and expert of African-American cinema and taught courses such as documentary filmmaking, writing for comics, and film criticism to youth through the Pacific Northwest College of Art, Northwest Film Center, Documentary Northwest, and Project Youth Doc.
We'll be talking to Walker about the above and more and want to hear from you! Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
This Monday, Graphic Policy Radio hits the air with a brand new episode and a first time guest, Darryl Ayo!
Since 2002, New York cartoonist Darryl Ayo has self-published minicomics, webcomics, anthology stories and comics criticism. Ayo's most known work, Little Garden has evolved and grown into and through several permutations and can be seen in its current form at littlegardencomics.com
Ayo, is also a commentator, blogging and on comic fandom. We'll not only discuss his comic career but also growth from the first Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival to the current Comics Art Brooklyn.
So, listen in this Monday and Tweet us your thoughts to @graphicpolicy.
Recently, some conservatives have taken issue with Captain America: Sam Wilson #1 and the political content within. The issue has Sam Wilson heading to the Southern border to deal with the Sons of Serpents who have taken it upon themselves to capture undocumented immigrants crossing the border.
From Fox & Friends to Townhall, conservatives and Republicans have taken up the charge against the issue claiming it's unAmerican and liberal propaganda.
We take up the issue and discuss the history of politics in comic books, especially Captain America.
Listen in and weigh in with your thoughts by Tweeting them to us @graphicpolicy
On a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio, we discuss New York Comic Con! The team went to the convention which took place October 8-11 at the Javits Convention Center, and came out with not just a lot of pictures, but a lot to chat about.
We'll talk about our experiences as well as some of the announcements made at the show.
On this episode, we'll also discuss the latest blow up over comments and Captain America: Sam Wilson #1's political nature which has gotten conservatives in a tizzy.
We want to hear from you too! You can tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy
Graphic Policy Radio is LIVE this Monday and discussing this week's New York Comic Con as well as well as discuss the first round of comics being released for All-New, All-Different Marvel.
New York Comic Con is the largest comic convention on the East coast, and there's tons of panels, debuts, and New York Super Week too! We'll discuss what we're looking forward to at the convention, what we might expect to happen, and what we'll be looking for.
This week also sees the release of the first comics for All-New, All-Different Marvel. We'll talk about what's being released and what we think of the upcoming releases.
We want to hear what you think too! Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy
This Sunday is the first season finale for Fear the Walking Dead, the Walking Dead spinoff that airs Sundays at 9pm ET on AMC. We'll be going on the air as soon as the episode ends discussing the events of the episode as well as the season as a whole.
Entitled "The Good Man," the episode as described as:
"As civil unrest grows, and the dead take over, Travis and Madison try to devise ways to protect their families."
We discuss what we're sure will be an exciting ending this Sunday immediately following Fear the Walking Dead.
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio, the show that mixes comics and politics. This Monday we discuss some of the latest comic news and releases!
On tap for this Monday we'll be discussing: Marvel has made more and more announcements with their All-New, All-Different relaunch/revamp which begins soon! We'll discuss some of the latest news and series announced.DC Comics has had some interesting and fun releases lately. We discuss two of them. This week we'll be chatting the latest issues of Constantine the Hellblazer and Grayson. We want to hear from you too! Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy
This Sunday immediately following Fear the Walking Dead is Fear the Walking Fanboys. Join us as soon as soon as the show ends as we discuss what happened on the latest episode and make predictions of what's to come. Fear the Walking Dead airs on AMC from 9pm to a little after 10pm ET on AMC, so we'll start as soon as the episode ends.
This week's Fear the Walking Dead is entitled "Cobalt."
The National Guard's plan for the neighborhood is revealed; Travis and Madison make a difficult decision.
So join us as we discuss the latest episode and we want to hear from you too! Call in with your thoughts or Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio. With no guest this week, we have a much overdue potluck where we'll discuss some of the latest comic news and reviews. Batman #44 is an interesting change for the character. We'll discuss the issue taking on some relevant societal issuesMore news of creators being bad broke out. We discuss the persistent harassment in the comic industry, the protection of these individuals, and what can be done. This past weekend was Small Press Expo. We talk about one of the best independent and small press comic conventions out there.
We'll discuss the above and more! We want to hear from you. Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy
This Sunday immediately following Fear the Walking Dead, which airs at 9pm ET on AMC, Fear the Walking Fanboys dives in to discuss the latest episode immediately following the episode's ending.
The fourth episode of Fear the Walking Dead is titled "Not Fade Away."
"Madison and Travis see different sides of the National Guard's occupation in their neighborhood; the family tries to adapt to the new world."
We talking about the television show giving immediate analysis and discussion as to what happened and what it means going forward.
We also want to hear what you think! Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy
This Sunday immediately following Fear the Walking Dead, which airs at 9pm ET on AMC, Fear the Walking Fanboys dives in to discuss the latest episode.
The third episode of Fear the Walking Dead is titled "The Dog."
"After they escape a riot, Travis, Liza and Chris seek refuge with the Salazars; Madison defends her home."
We talking about the television show giving immediate analysis and discussion as to what happened and what it means going forward.
We also want to hear what you think! Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy
Graphic Policy Radio is taking Labor Day off, but we have an episode this week at a special time and with a first time guest. Comic creator Alex de Campi joins us to discuss her career and more!
Alex is a comic writer who has created comics for some of the biggest publishers including Dark Horse, Archie, and Image Comics. Her series include Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight, Grindhouse: Drive In, Bleed Out, Archie vs. Predator, and her creator owned series Smoke/Ashes and No Mercy and more.
We want to hear what questions you have for her! Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy and we'll ask them on the air.
Fear the Walking Dead is taking a week off, but we're not. Ron and Brett return to the mic to catch up and discuss what they didn't get a chance to in the first episode of Fear the Walking Fanboys.
There's been only two episodes so far of AMC's Fear the Walking Dead, but there was more to discuss than an hour would hold! We chat about the first two episodes of the hit show, and predict what we might see in the third episode.
Listen in and join the conversation by Tweeting your thoughts to @graphicpolicy.
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio and we're welcoming our first time guest Bryan Edward Hill to the show!
Bryan is a writer for both comics and films. He currently writes Postal for Image Comics/Top Cow Productions as well as the upcoming Romulus. He was also recently brought on board as the story editor for Top Cow. You can follow him through Tumblr or Twitter.
We want to hear what questions you have too! Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy and we'll ask them live on the air.
After you're done watching Fear the Walking Dead, join our virtual roundtable as we discuss each week's new episode right after it airs! Debuting this Sunday, Fear the Walking Fanboys presented by Graphic Policy.
What did the world look like as it was transforming into the horrifying apocalypse depicted in "The Walking Dead"? This spin-off set in Los Angeles, following new characters as they face the beginning of the end of the world, will answer that question.
Ron and Brett chat about the hit AMC television series going over each brand new episode with a fine tooth comb and what it all means for The Walking Dead universe. We'll be chatting each Sunday at 10pm ET right after the episode ends.
We also want to hear what you think. Call in with your thoughts, or Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy.
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio the show that mixes comic and politics. It's a potluck Monday, and we'll be discussing a wide ranging amount of news and reviews in the comic industry.
After a few weeks of awesome guests, we'll be catching up to discuss some of our favorite, and not so favorite, releases over the past month!
Some of the comics we'll be discussing is the newest volume of Phonogram, and the latest issue of Constantine!
But, that's not all that's on tap. Just tune in and find out what else is on the agenda.
We also want to hear from you! Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy.
This Wednesday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio with returning guest Jeremy Whitley. Jeremy has two comics releasing this week, his creator owned series from Action Lab EntertainmentPrinceless: Raven, The Pirate Princess #2 and Secret Wars: Secret Love #1 from Marvel. We'll discuss those two releases and so much more!
Jeremy Whitley is the creator of the original comic series Princeless, Illegal, and The Order of Dagonet. His work has been nominated for two Eisner Awards, Five Glyph Awards, and numerous other honors. In addition to his original creations, he has also been a regular writer for IDW's My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and My Little Pony: Friends Forever series as well as Action Lab's NFL Rush Zone and GlobWorld comic series.
Jeremy has been at the forefront of changing trends in the comic industry, and a leader for diversity in both creators and characters.
We want to hear your questions too! You can Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
This Thursday is a special episode of Graphic Policy Radio with writer Steve Orlando. Steve is returning to the show to discuss his new series from Image Comics,Virgil!
Undertow and Midnighter writer Steve Orlando and Murder Book artist JD Faith present a brand new, “queersploitation” graphic novel on the streets of Jamaica in,Virgil, in stores this September 2015.
Betrayed, beaten, and banished by his own, an outed cop fights his way across Jamaica for revenge.
This is a Foxy Brown-style revenge action with a new face and new fists. Holding his gun and his badge, Virgil thought he was safe in the police force, hiding who he is. But when his own brothers on the force out him in the papers, it doesn’t bring him down. It sets him free! Now, he’s out for revenge. And he’s not leaving town without his man, and some blood on his hands.
We'll talk to Steve about the upcoming book as well as the Kickstarter that it spun out from.
We also want your questions too! Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy.
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio with first time guest Genevieve Valentine.
Genevieve Valentine is a science fiction and fantasy writer. In 2014 she took over as the writer for DC Comics' Catwoman, sending Selina Kyle in a whole new direction as a key player in Gotham's mob family. The latest issue hits shelves this week. Her first novel, Mechanique: A tale of the Circus Tresaulti, won the Crawford Award for a first fantasy novel, and was shortlisted for the Nebula.
Joining us in welcoming Genevieve to the show is frequent guest and cohost Emma Houxbois. Emma is the Comics Editor for The Rainbow Hub and co-host of weekly comics podcast Fantheon!
We also want your questions! You can Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy before or during the show.
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio with a brand new guest, Matt Bors!
Bors is an editorial cartoonist and editor of The Nib and was working at Medium running it since 2013. In 2012 he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and became the first alt-weekly cartoonist to win the Herblock Prize for Excellence in Cartooning. Currently he's running a Kickstarter to collecting some of the best political cartoons, comics journalism, non-fiction and humor.
Eat More Comics packs more than 300 pages featuring dozens of the best cartoonists to ever toon a toon. I mean, it's going to be a large book.
We're going to talk to him about the Kickstarter, The Nib, and more!
We also want to hear from you. Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy.
This Monday night Graphic Policy Radio, the show that mixes comics and politcs, returns with a first time special guest! Brandon Graham will dial in to discuss his comic career and some of his latest releases!
Graham has worked with everyone from Antarctic Press, Oni Press, NBM Publishing, to Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, and more! Recently, Graham has had two impressive releases, both through Image. 8House: Arclight debuted July 1 and is a fantasy world featuring sharp genderqueer knights, blood magic, music, dancing, and a goose. Island debuted July 15, and is a new ongoing comics magazine featuring the talents of Graham, Emma Ríos, and more.
We'll discuss both series and a whole lot more during the show. We also want to hear from you! Tweet us your questions @graphicpolicy
San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone and Graphic Policy Radio's own Brett was not only on the ground to cover the show, but also sat on two different panels! We'll discuss the convention, the panels, and so much more!
On this episode: What announcements stood out at the convention? We talk who "won" the show!Trailers for Deadpool, Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, and X-Men: Apocalypse were all shown, which looked good and which didn't? We discuss!Toys, comics, movies, television, and tons of celebrities, Brett talked to a lot of people! He goes over what stood out to him, and the stories you might have missed. We of course want to hear from you! Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy
While Brett is off covering San Diego Comic Con, Elana's doing the next best thing: podcasting with two academics!
Returning guests Steven Attewell and Sarah Rasher join her to talk SDCC news, Marvel Comics, the Eisner winning Lumberjanes and popular indie books like Rat Queens and the new Arclight.
Sarah Rasher blogs about religion and politics for Friendly Atheist, recaps Teen Wolf for The Rainbow Hub, and writes comics reviews for Graphic Policy. In her own blog, Sarah Explains the Finer Sports, she talks about figure skating and football from a queer feminist geek perspective. Sarah earned her Ph.D. in English from the University of Connecticut and is now working on a book on Shakespeare in popular culture and building an iambic pentameter ray in her secret lair.
Steve Attewell is a political & union activist. Steve got his PhD in Policy History from the University of California, Santa Barbara and teaches public policy at CUNY's Murphy Institute for Labor Studies. He is the founder and writer of Race for the Iron Throne as well as The Realignment Project.
Elana is here every week. This week she will be playing the role of Brett.
Graphic Policy Radio returns this Monday! This is the show that mixes comics and politics, and this episode we lift the curtain to show off the scenes behind political activism.
This past week controversy struck the comic industry (again) over the transphobic nature in part of the comic series Airboy. Graphic Policy, along with The Rainbow Hub, spearheaded the movement to decry the comic, and pull support of the comic by Image Comics, timed to coincide with Image Expo. You can read more about the issue here, and the action here.
But why did we go this route?
We talk about the issue, and dive into political activism including why this particular "ask" was made, and the timing of it all.
But, that's not all!
We're also going to talk about comics we recommend, that you should be checking out!
So, learn a bit about political activism and organizing as we apply it to the comic industry.
This Monday night Graphic Policy returns with a brand new episode mixing comics and politics. Listen in as we talk live about some of the latest comic news.
On this episode, we're discussing: DC Comics' Convergence has ended and a new focus on diversity has begun. We'll talk some of their new series and new directions including Midnighter, Batgirl, Batman, Green Lantern: The Lost Army, and more!Marvel's universe is in ruins and embroiled in Secret Wars. We discuss this massive event that will result in a whole new Marvel Universe when it's over. We already know some new series such as Invincible Iron Man, A-Force, Squadron Supreme, and Miles Morales headlining Spider-Man! We'll talk the event and what comes after.San Diego Comic-Con is right around the corner, we'll talk a bit about the convention, the announced panels, and some of the exclusives! We'll discuss all that and more! We of course want to hear from you too. Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy.
This Monday night Graphic Policy Radio hits the airwaves with a brand new guest. Joining us for the first time is comic creator Brenden Fletcher.
Brenden Fletcher has been a professional storysmith for more than a decade. Hailing from the worlds of theatre and film, Brenden made an impact on comics with DC Comics' award-winning Wednesday Comics anthology, penning the critically acclaimed Flash story with Karl Kerschl. Since then he's been developing new media and video game properties, most recently partnering with Ubisoft to extend its line of Assassin's Creed graphic novels. He's currently writing the Black Canary series for DC Comics while continuing to co-write Batgirl with Cameron Stewart and Gotham Academy with Becky Cloonan.
We'll be discussing Brenden's entire career but especially his work on Gotham Academy, Batgirl, and the brand new Black Canary which debuts in comic shops this week.
You can Tweet us your thoughts to @graphicpolicy.
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio, the show that mixes comics and politics. Joining us this episode is writer and artist Ming Doyle. Ming is writing a brand new series from DC Comics as part of their new direction, Constantine the Hellblazer.
Ming Doyle was born in Boston to an Irish-American sailor and a Chinese Canadian librarian. In 2007, she earned her BFA from Cornell University with a dual concentration in painting and drawing. She has been working as a freelance illustrator and comic book artist ever since. She worked with such companies as Boom! Studios, Image, Tokyopop and Valiant, and now DC Comics. Works include (but not limited to) The Kitchen, Mara, Quantum and Woody, and now she's taking on writing duties with Constantine the Hellblazer.
We'll be talking about her career as well as her take on John Constantine and what we can expect out of the new series.
We also want to hear what questions you might have for her too. Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy.
This Monday Graphic Policy Radio hits the air to discuss writer Ales Kot's newest series from Image Comics, Material!
In Material a man comes home from Guantanamo Bay, irrevocably changed. An actress receives an offer that can revive her career. A boy survives a riot and becomes embedded within a revolutionary movement. A philosopher is contacted by a being that dismantles his beliefs. Look around you. Everything is material.
Joining us in the discussion is not just Kot, but also guest Spencer Ackerman. Ackerman reported the uncovering of the Chicago Police Department's torture site which is a key point in Kot's series.
Ales Kot writes because nothing else makes sense. He's responsible for screenplays, video games, graphic novels and products/experiences which do not even have their names assigned as of yet. His portfolio includes Disney, Warner Brothers, Image Comics, Marvel Entertainment, DC Entertainment, Dark Horse Comics and more.
Spencer Ackerman is the U.S. national security editor of the Guardian, where he was part of the team that won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service Journalism for the NSA surveillance revelations provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden. A former senior writer for Wired, Ackerman won the 2012 National Magazine Award for Digital Reporting for his series about Islamophobia in FBI counterterrorism training. Having reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and numerous ships, bases and a submarine, Ackerman in 2015 exposed a secretive incommunicado police detention center in Chicago called Homan Square. A Brooklyn NY native, his mother taught him to read with Bill Mantlo's Incredible Hulk run.
We want to hear your thoughts too. You can Tweet them to us at @graphicpolicy.
This Monday Graphic Policy Radio goes to the movies to discuss George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road. 30 years have passed since the last Mad Max movie, but Miller has returned to his apocalyptic world with new leads, in one hell of a movie. Joining us to discuss the film are Steven Attewell and Dirk Lester.
On the show we're excited to discuss not just the visual extravaganza, and practical fx, but also what the film has to say about women in action movies, its handling of sexism and slavery, and the global climate apocalypse. Steve Attewell – A political & union activist, Steve holds a PhD in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the founder and writer of Race for the Iron Throne as well as The Realignment ProjectDirk Lester - The world’s 3RD deadliest #ComicbBook geek, film fanatic, political junkie, music nerd, #digital sherpa, #HumanRights activist – and yeah, it is all connected. You can see what Dirk has to say about the film here. So listen in and Tweet us your thoughts about the film to @graphicpolicy
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio, and we're going to the movies again. Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron has already proven itself to be one of the biggest films of the year. The film has already earned $1.2 billion globally. But popularity doesn't necessarily mean the film has been universally praised. The movie has come under fire for its portrayal of women, the absence of women in tie-in products, and for other issues with the story itself. Joining us for the conversation is Sarah Jaffe.
Sarah Jaffe is a reporting fellow at the Nation Institute and a giant nerd who once upon a time wrote about comics more than she wrote about politics, believe it or not, and she has lots of feelings about superhero movies AND their politics. Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/sarahljaffe
So listen in, and join us in the conversation. Call in with your thoughts, or Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy.
Graphic Policy is back with a brand new episode with special guest, and award winning journalist Spencer Ackerman.
Comics have often featured torture as a method for the heroes to extract information or get them to their goal. We most recently saw this in Marvel and Netflix's Daredevil, where torture is a key point in advancing the hero's plot. We'll discuss torture in comics, and its place in the modern stories and the world.
Spencer Ackerman is the U.S. national security editor of the Guardian, where he was part of the team that won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service Journalism for the NSA surveillance revelations provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden. A former senior writer for Wired, Ackerman won the 2012 National Magazine Award for Digital Reporting for his series about Islamophobia in FBI counterterrorism training. Having reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and numerous ships, bases and a submarine, Ackerman in 2015 exposed a secretive incommunicado police detention center in Chicago called Homan Square. A Brooklyn NY native, his mother taught him to read with Bill Mantlo's Incredible Hulk run.
We want to hear your thoughts on the topic. You can Tweet them to us at @graphicpolicy or call in live.
This Monday night Graphic Policy returns with a brand new episode mixing comics and politics. Listen in as we talk live about some of the latest comic news.
On this episode, we're discussing: All-New X-Men made waves this past week when founding X-Man Bobby Drake aka Iceman was revealed to be gay. The writing though was controversial concerning statements around bisexuality. We talk about what happened, what we like vs what is still really troubling.DC Comics revealed that Frank Miller will be penning Dark Knight III: The Master Race. Miller will be joined by Brian Azzarello on writing duties. We discuss the unfortunate name for the new series.DC Comics' Convergence is wrapping up its first month this week. The two month event consists of a main series and a bunch of tie-in series. We discuss what we think so far. and what we hope to see in the second month. We'll discuss all of that and more! We want to hear what you think too! Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy or call in to let us know what you think.
This Monday Graphic Policy Radio is back for a brand new episode on Monday April 20. The show will air LIVE at 10pm ET. This episode we're talking about ole hornhead himself Daredevil, and the brand new Marvel and Netflix series Daredevil! Joining us is return guest Scott Kaufman, who you might know as SEK.
April 10 saw the launch of the new series featuring 13 episodes starring Daredevil which kicked off Marvel and Netflix's small screen plan. While it started with this one series, we can expect to see four more series to follow including A.K.A. Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and then The Defenders!
Joining us to discuss this all is Scott who is the proprietor of the AV Club’s Internet Film School and an Assistant Editor for Salon. He also writes for Lawyers, Guns & Money, podcasts, and is an expert on Game of Thrones.
So listen in LIVE, and join the conversation too. We want to hear what you have to say, so call us at (619) 768-2952 or Tweet us your thoughts to @graphicpolicy.
It's Monday night, and that means a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio, the show thay mixes politics and comics. It's been a bit since we discussed recent releases and general news in the comic industry, so it's potluck Monday!
On this episode: We talk what we've been reading and discuss hot comics and graphic novels you should check out, and what you should skip, and what we're looking forward to!Emerald City Comicon was this past weekend with lots of announcements and hints as to what's coming up. We round up the news and talk about what you need to know.Geekdom and politics clashed this past week and the largest game convention in North American Gen Con spoke out about Indiana's SB 101, and threatened to leave the state if passed. We lay it out there as to what you need to know.The past few weeks also saw controversy. We discuss the recent round of harassment as well as the controversy over DC Comics variant cover to Batgirl #41. We discuss all of that and more this Monday! We want to hear from you. Call in with your thoughts or Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy.
This Monday Graphic Policy Radio is getting truly outrageous as comic creator Kelly Thompson joins us to discuss Jem & The Holograms! The series debuts Wednesday March 25 and features art from Sophie Campbell.
In addition to the upcoming Jem & The Holograms comic, Kelly is the writer of Storykiller and The Girl Who Would Be King, as well as the co-writer of Captain Marvel & the Carol Corps.
Jem will be on a lot of people's minds as there's not only the comic, but a live action movie hitting theaters October 2015. For those who don't remember the rocking 80s cartoon....
It’s the 21st century, and Jem and The Holograms are 21st century girls! Meet Jerrica Benton, the gifted singer of The Holograms, a band that has the right look and the right sound… But one thing is holding them back—Jerrica’s crippling stage fright. Luckily, Jerrica is about to find help in the most unlikely of places when she discovers a forgotten present left by her father. And what she finds is truly outrageous!
Joining us is frequent guest Emma Houxbois. Emma is a queer blogger for hire out of Vancouver, BC, and the DC Comics reviewer for The Rainbow Hub!
So join us Monday and find out what everyone will be talking about, when we discuss Jem & the Holograms with Kelly Thompson. We want to hear from you too! Call in with your thoughts or Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy.
Graphic Policy Radio returns after a breif hiatus, and in this episode we go Who! Tonight, we're discussing Doctor Who, focusing on Titan Comics' various series featuring the many recent doctors. We're joined tonight with special guests Amanda Mayer and Chris Reid.
Amanda Mayer is a writer, director, and comedian, as well as a long-time Whovian. She can currently be seen performing with musical improv teams Goats and Orphan Alley around NYC.
Chris Reid is a lifelong nerd, avid gamer (both digital and physical) and consumer of sci-fi and fantasy entertainment in its various forms. He runs a solo law practice in Brooklyn, working largely with indie game developers and others in the game industry helping them navigate the various legal issues that crop up in their business (and sometimes procrastinating by playing his client's games). Chris watched the occasional old-school Doctor Who as a kid when it was on TV, but didn't really get into the Whoniverse (don't call it that) until about 2008, at which point he became an instant obsessive fan.
Join us for this wibbly wobbly timey wimey episode as we enjoy some fish fingers and custard and talk all things Who!
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio with two special guests. Joining us are Keenan Marshall Keller and Tom Neely, the team behind the Image Comic series, The Humans.
Apart, they are nothing...deemed by society as outcasts, misfits, losers, no good punks! But together, they are THE HUMANS! The Humans is a high-octane, no-holds-barred, ape-biker-gang chopper ride into '70s exploitation genre bliss. Follow Bobby, Johnny, and all The Humans as they fight and fly down the road to oblivion on a ride filled with chains, sex, leather, denim, hair, blood, bananas, and chrome.
Tom Neely is a painter and cartoonist best known for the cult-hit indie comic book Henry & Glenn Forever, which he created with his artist collective The Igloo Tornado. His debut graphic novel, The Blot, earned him an Ignatz Award. He authored the Melvins comic book, Your Disease Spread Quick, and a collection of comic strip poems called Brilliantly Ham-fisted, and the painted novel, The Wolf.
Keenan Marshall Keller is a letterer, colorist, inker, penciler, and writer. His work has been seen in Marvel Comics Presents, Henry & Glenn Forever, Eerie, and now he's the writer for The Humans.
Join us this Monday as we talk to these two about this fantastic new series. We want to hear from you. Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy.
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio, the show that mixes comics and politics. This Monday we're joined by comic creator Ronald Wimberly.
Wimberly has a long career working on numerous series and with publishers such as Marvel, Vertigo, IDW and more! His work has been seen in many comics such as IDW's Black Dynamite, Marvel's She-Hulk, BOOM!'s Dead Letters, and so much more. His 2012 Vertigo release Prince of Cats, which he wrote and provided art, is a hip-hop retelling of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
We'll be discussing all of the above, and more!
We of course want to hear from you. You can call in with your questions, or Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy.
Graphic Policy Radio presents a special episode on Game of Thrones. We'll be talking about the unreleased trailer for Season 5 and our thoughts on re watching the penultimate and ultimate episodes of Season Four now screening in EAR SHATTERING EARMAX in select theaters. Graphic Policy Radio co-host Elana is joined by leading expert on all things A Song of Ice and Fire, Professor Steven Attewell.
He is the author of "Race for the Iron Throne: Volume I," an e-book that collects essays on the politics and history behind the novel A Game of Thrones, two essays in the forthcoming e-book, "Tower of the Hand: A Hymn for Spring," and the forth-coming book "Analyzing the World of Ice and Fire: Kings, Hands, and City-States," which examines the political structures of Westeros and Essos. He also podcasts about HBO's Game of Thrones for the blog Lawyers, Guns, and Money.
So, tune in for this very special episode!
This Monday Graphic Policy Radio returns! This is the show that mixes comics and politics.
On this episode: We discuss the finale of All-New X-Factor. Issue #20 wraps up Peter David's latest run of Marvel's X-Factor. We discuss the series and those revelations at the end.This summer Marvel's universes smash together creating an All-New Marvel with Secret Wars. We chat what this means for the 616, Ultimate Universe, as well as the return of Marvel Zombies, Age of Ultron, Future Imperfect, World War Hulk and more.DC Comics brings back the old and mixes it with the new when Convergence comes out for two months. We discuss what this all means for the DC Universe and what to expect after. We'll be discussing all of that and more! We also want to hear what you think. Call us and let us know your thoughts, or Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy.
This Monday Graphic Policy Radio is back for a brand new episode dedicated to Marvel's Agent Carter. The show will air LIVE at 10pm ET. Joining us is return guest Scott Kaufman, who you might know as SEK.
The winter/spring television season has begun, and debuting is Marvel's Agent Carter, filling the space until Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns. Years before Agent Coulson and his S.H.I.E.L.D. team swore to protect those who cannot protect themselves from threats they cannot conceive, there was Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell, "Marvel's Captain America: The First Avenger," "Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier") who pledged the same oath but lived in a different time when women weren't recognized as being as smart or as tough as their male counterparts.
With three episodes on the air, we'll talk about what we think so far.
Scott is the proprietor of the AV Club’s Internet Film School and an associate editor at The Raw Story. He also writes for Lawyers, Guns & Money, podcasts, and is an expert on Game of Thrones.
So listen in LIVE, and join the conversation too. We want to hear what you have to say, so call us at (619) 768-2952 or Tweet us your thoughts to @graphicpolicy.
This Monday sees a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio, the show that mixes comics and politics. The first week of new comics of 2015 is behind us, and we're talking some of the brand new series that saw their first issues debut last Wednesday.
On this episode: What character has beaten both Thanos and Doctor Doom? That'd be Squirrel Girl. The unbeatable Squirrel Girl gets her own series in Marvel's The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. We discuss the first issue!Last week saw the debut of Agent Carter on ABC, and Marvel's Operation S.I.N. which features Agent Carter! We'll discuss the first issue, as well as the new show. How well has Marvel tied the comic and television series together? Find out!Image Expo took place last week, and we'll be discussing the numerous series that Image announced. You can find out what to expect from them in 2015! We'll talk all that, and more! We want to hear from you too. Call us with your thoughts, or Tweet us your thoughts at @graphicpolicy.
It's a new year, and the first episode of Graphic Policy Radio, the show that mixes comics and politics. For the first episode of the year we're looking back at 2014 and looking forward to 2015.
On this episode we're discussing: Our favorite comics and graphic novels of 2014,What we think were the top stories of 2014,What changes in the comic market place happened over the past year,What we're looking forward to in 2015,Predictions for 2015! We're doing all of that LIVE, and we want to hear from you! What stood out to you about 2014, and what are you looking forward to in 2015? Call in and let us know, or Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy.
It's Monday night and that means a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio! We're back talking comics. There's been a lot of brand new comics debuting over the past few weeks, and some very high-profile ones at that. We'll be discussing.... Angela: Asgard's Assassin - The character debuted in Spawn, but now is over at Marvel. After a stint in Guardians of the Galaxy, the character headlines her own series.Bitch Planet - The most talked about comic of the past week. This comic shows how you can take on social and political issues within an entertaining story.Deathlok - The classic character who was an integral part of last season's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gets its own series.Secret Six - We loved the pre-New 52 version of the series, but how does this new team and relaunch stack up?and more! So join us this Monday and let us know your thoughts about these new series! You can call in or Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy
After a few weeks off this Monday Graphic Policy Radio is back for a brand new episode on Monday November 24. The show will air LIVE at 10pm ET. We have a very special episode with return guest Scott Kaufman, who you might know as SEK.
We’re many weeks into the new fall television season. One of the new trends is television shows based on comic book series with a half dozen airing in the 2014-2015 season, many of those based on DC Comics comic books. One of those is Constantine which airs Fridays on NBC. Based on the Vertigo series Hellblazer and the New 52 series Constantine, the show follows the mast of the dark arts John Constantine. We’ll discuss the series (and we’re sure much more).
Scott is the proprietor of the AV Club’s Internet Film School and an associate editor at The Raw Story. He also writes for Lawyers, Guns & Money, podcasts, and is an expert on Game of Thrones.
So listen in LIVE, and join the conversation too. We want to hear what you have to say, so call us at (619) 768-2952 or Tweet us your thoughts to @graphicpolicy.
This Monday night Graphic Policy Radio returns with a brand new episode! This show is all DC Comics as we talk about some brand new series as well as the debut of Constantine on NBC this past Friday. Joining the discussion is frequent guest Emma Houxbois.
Emma is a queer blogger for hire out of Vancouver, BC, and the DC Comics reviewer for The Rainbow Hub!
On tap this episode we're discussing: Constantine debuted this past Friday on NBC. We discuss the first episode and what we think of the latest live adaptation of the character.DC Comics has been shaking things up debuting lots of new series and shaking of the creative teams on others. We're discussing new series and the new directions for Catwoman, Gotham Academy, and Batgirl. We want to hear from you too! Call in with your thoughts, or Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy.
This Monday is a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio, the show that mixes comics, geekdom, and politics. It's been a bit since our last episode and we're back to cover some of the latest releases as well as conventions. On tap this week is: Batgirl got a new look, new location, a new status-quo in Batgirl #35. We discuss the change for the character.Gotham Academy #1 came out and the series attempts to fill a much needed gap in the DC Comics line-up. We talk about the new series' first issue and recent changes for DC.New York Comic Con recently descended on New York City's Javitts Center. We talk about the convention and the numerous announcement that came out of it. We'll discuss the above and more in a brand new episode! We want to hear from you too. You can call in with your thoughts, or Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy.
This Monday Graphic Policy Radio is back for a brand new episode. We have a very special episode with return guest Scott Kaufman, who you might know as SEK.
The fall television season has begun, and with it brings numerous shows based on comic books. Debuting Monday is Fox's Gotham, a prequel of sorts exploring the city of Gotham before Batman. Instead of centering on the Dark Knight it instead revolves around James Gordon and the Gotham Police force, before colorful characters became the center of crime. It'll feature some familiar faces, including the origin of some of DC Comic's most iconic characters.
Scott is the proprietor of the AV Club's Internet Film School and an associate editor at The Raw Story. He also writes for Lawyers, Guns & Money, podcasts, and is an expert on Game of Thrones.
It's Monday and Graphic Policy Radio is back for a brand new episode. We have a very special episode with return guest Scott Kaufman, who you might know as SEK.
Guardians of the Galaxy is still in theaters, ruling the box office as the top earning domestic film in 2014... so far. The film has lead what has been an abysmal summer box office, and out-performed expectations and won over audiences. We'll discuss the film and try to figure out exactly why it's taken movie theaters by storm. And.... We are Groot!
Scott is the proprietor of the AV Club's Internet Film School and an associate editor at The Raw Story. He also writes for Lawyers, Guns & Money, podcasts, and is an expert on Game of Thrones.
Comic writer Jeremy Whitley returns to Graphic Policy Radio to discuss his new series Illegal which is currently a part of a Kickstarter project.
Illegal is a near future science fiction story about about an America in which the rich live in a lush paradise in and on top of skyscrapers, while the poor literally live in their shadows below. All of the citizens are tracked and monitored by a microchip under their skin from the time they are born and anyone undocumented is sent to deportation camps where few actually survive long enough to be deported.
Our heroine, Gianna DelRey is an undocumented immigrant who fled with her mother from an abusive household when she was young. She's survived by scrubbing floors and allowing her rich employers to treat her like dirt. When one turns on her and she finds herself on the run, Gianna will discover that when everyone is constantly tracked, being able to movie invisibly is something that many will pay a high price for. Will she keep running or will she decide to take a stand?
Join us as we talk to Jeremy about this and more! You can take part by calling in with your thoughts, or Tweeting them to us @graphicpolicy.
It's Monday night which means a new episode of Graphic Policy Radio! This is the show that mixes comics, geekdom, and politics.
This week we mix some comic discussion with that of conventions. On this episode: We chat about Marvel and Peter David's All-New X-Factor.This past weekend was Otakon. The convention covers manga, anime, and cosplay and attracts over 100,000 individuals to Baltimore, MD, for the weekend. We talk about the convention and some of the interesting observations from it. We're talking those two things and more! You can listen in live, but also join in the conversation by calling us, or Tweeting us your thoughts, @graphicpolicy.
It's Monday night and that means a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio. Tonight we have a special guest, Sarah Rasher who joins us to discuss all the latest comic related news.
Sarah is an Assistant Professor of Language and Literature at St. Augustine College in Chicago. As co-host Elana puts it, a Doctor of Shakespearology. She's currently working on a book about adaptations of Shakespeare in television, comic books, and video games. Her Twitter is @pas_dechat, although she mostly uses it to talk about sports.
On tonight's episode we chat: San Diego Comic-Con has come to a close. We talk about the various announcements (or lack thereof) and what stood out amongst the bunch.Diversity is a popular trend in comics with characters having their gender switched, or mantles being passed to a new generation of heroes that are ethnically diverse. We talk about the seismic change.We also talk some of the hottest comics out there including Trees, Silver Surfer, Black Widow, and Moon Knight. Join us as we discuss this and more on tonight's episode!
This Tuesday, join us for a very special episode of Graphic Policy Radio with guest Kieron Gillen. Gillen got his start writing for numerous publications and was the founder of the PC Gaming site Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Now Gillen writes some of the most iconic characters out there which are socially astute, funny, and full of #feels as his definitive iteration of Kid Loki might say.
Kieron's work in comics is varied and impressive, from Phonogram to Three, X-Men, Thor, Iron Man, Journey Into Mystery, Young Avengers, his latest creator owned series The Wicked + The Divine, and so much more.
We'll be talking to Kieron, about a lot of these series, and more!
Join us, and listen in live!
It's Monday, and that means a new episode of Graphic Policy Radio, the show that mixes comics and politics! This week we have on tap:
DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson Addresses Lack of Female Representation - There's rumors of movies, and the New 52 has dropped and added comics like it's going out of style. We talk comics and women!
We talk two awesome comics with kick-ass women, She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel!
This Wednesday sees the release of The Wicked + The Divine #1. Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as humans. They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are dead. Welcome to The Wicked + The Devine, where gods are the ultimate pop stars. But remember: just because you’re immortal, doesn’t mean you’re going to live forever. We discuss Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie's new series.
We talk about the above and probably more! We want to hear from you. Tweet us your thoughts to @graphicpolicy, or call in with your opinion.
It's Monday which means a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio. It's Memorial Day, and we have a very special episode with guest Scott Kaufman, who you might know as SEK.
Memorial Day is when we remember the men and women who died while serving the United States Armed Forces, and we're spending it discussing Marvel Comics' Star Spangled veteran who has given his life for his country Captain America.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is still in theaters and the highest grossing film globally of 2014 so far. It tackles the very real issues of privacy, the "security state," civil liberties, and militarization of technology. We'll be discussing all this and more!
Scott is the proprietor of the AV Club's Internet Film School and an associate editor at The Raw Story. He also writes for Lawyers, Guns & Money, podcasts, and is an expert on Game of Thrones.
After a few weeks off, Graphic Policy Radio has returned. This is the show that mixes geekdom and politics.
On this week's episode: Free Comic Book Day was May 3, and we're discussing our experiences and some of the releases that came out!There's been lots of new comic releases like the debut of Elektra from Marvel. We'll discuss that, Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, and more!This past week television stations have announced numerous new televisions shows based on comic books for the fall. We discuss the growing list! We'll discuss this, and more! We want to hear from you, so Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy.
It's Monday, and Graphic Policy Radio is back at its normal time. This week we're going a little bit serious, and mixing it with some entertainment.
On this episode: The nasty side of online geek culture again reared its ugly head as threats were made towards a respected female member of the community. You can read the original article posted here, as well as two follow up articles here and here.We're discussing our favorite costumes in comic books! That's right, we go over what we feel are the best designs, both in look and actual use.We discuss the latest hit BOOM! Studios/BOOM! Box series Lumberjanes!Tomb Raider is up to issue three. We both thought the first issue was good, but how have the latest two issues been? Find out here! So join us this Monday we want to hear from you! Call in with your thoughts or Tweet them to us, @graphicpolicy.
It's Monday night and that means the latest episode of Graphic Policy Radio that mixes comics, geekdom, and politics! This week we have an episode to Marvel's recent major launch. We're discussing All-New Marvel NOW! and recent its recent releases.
Topics include: Silver SurferLoki: Agent of AsgardCaptain MarvelBlack WidowShe-HulkAnd More! We want to hear from you and your thoughts about Marvel's new initiative! Call in to the show or Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy
It's Monday night and that means a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio which mixes comics and politics!
On tap for this week: We talk about the latest issue of Image Comics' Velvet!We're chatting Lazarus #7, also by ImageCracked had a humorous article and the top 5 disastrous political moments in politics. We weight in! As always, we want to hear from you! Join in on the conversation by calling in or Tweeting your thoughts @graphicpolicy
It's Monday and that means a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio which mixes comics and politics. Up this week, we discuss a few different items: Ms. Marvel debuted to lots of coverage and praise. We finally get to discuss the first issue of Marvel's new series and hero.Wolverine and the X-Men ended, and a new series has debuted as well. We discuss how the series wrapped up.We also discuss this weekend's controversy which involved an unfortunate promotion for a new comic convention. We'll discuss the above and more! We want to hear from you though. Call in at the above number or send us your response on Twitter, @graphicpolicy.
It's Monday night which means it's a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio, the show that mixes comic books and politics.
On this episode the topics scheduled are: We discuss Dark Horse's new Tomb Raider #1 written by Gail Simone.Archaia's series Hacktivist saw it's second issue released. The series imagines what if Anonymous was actually two tech leaders.At this past week's ComicsPro meeting, Image Comics's Eric Stephenson had a divisive speech about the current comic market, and what stores can do to grow. We'll discuss what he had to say. As always, we want to hear from you. Call in with your thoughts and Tweet them to us at @graphicpolicy.
Join us as we examine the X-Men, Professor X, Magneto & the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. in an extra long, packed episode.
Special guests include: Steve Attewell - A political & union activist, Steve holds a PhD in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the founder and writer of Race for the Iron Throne as well as The Realignment ProjectDavid Brothers - David works for a comics publisher, blogs about stuff at 4thletter.net, & tweets about everything at @hermanos. Find his life story at iamdavidbrothers.com.Gene Demby - Gene Demby is an American writer and journalist & the lead blogger for NPR's Code Switch team.Aaron Rand Freeman - Aaron is the audio engineer for the TWIB podcast network & a co-host on TWIB Radio & We Nerd Hard. He hosts his own sports show, Sportsball.Emma Houxbois - Emma is a queer blogger for hire out of Vancouver, BC most recently attached to Girls Read Comics. Follow her @emmahouxboisKendra James - a blogger who writes on race, comics, television & more for Racialicious, follow her @wriglied Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy.
This Monday Graphic Policy Radio returns with special guest writer Steve Orlando, the writer behind the new Image Comics series Undertow which hits shelves this Wednesday.
Atlantis is the world superpower, and Redum Anshargal is its worst enemy. If you want to break free of the system, he can offer you a place at his side, exploring the wild surface world in his watertight city barge The Deliverer. He and his hostage-protege Ukinnu Alal hunt the Amphibian, a legend that could be the key to an air-breathing life on land. But as they become the hunted, can Anshargal's team survive long enough to turn the tables on the godlike beast they set out for?
We'll talk to Steve about the series which having read it, should be on everyone's buy pile this week. Undertow is Steve's first full length comic series after anthology work with DC/Vertigo and Image over the past year.
This is your chance to get the scoop about the series which I'm sure will sell-out! We want to hear from you, call in or Tweet your questions @graphicpolicy
It's Monday night and that means a new episode of Graphic Policy Radio which mixes comics, politics, and geekdom.
On this episode: We discuss the end of FF and Fantastic Four.Marvel's All-New Marvel NOW! has begun. We talk the start of their latest initiative and the latest Point One comic.It seems solo-super hero series are back in vogue. We talk about what characters deserve their own comic book series. We discuss all of that and so much more! We want to hear from you though. Call in with your thoughts or Tweet them to us @graphicpolicy
It's Monday night and that means it's a new episode of Graphic Policy Radio which mixes politics, comics and geekdom. This week we've got a lot on tap! We review Velvet #3We discuss and review Three #4In honor of MLK Day we discuss Top Shelf's March and the history of Martin Luther King and The Montgomery StoryWe take on CSA: Confederate States of America Vol. 1: Southern CrossWe also get in an EARLY REVIEW of Undertow #1 from Image Comics. We discuss all of that and more on this episode! We want to hear your thoughts too. Call in or tweet us @graphicpolicy.
It's Monday night and it's a new episode of Graphic Policy Radio mixing comics, politics and geekdom. This week we've got a few things on tap including: Marvel's President Dan Buckley has said that Marvel's cinematic universe is supposed to drive people to print. We ask and discuss why don't they mention the comics in the movies or tv shows?Is Image Comics more than a bunch of white dudes? This past week's Image Expo would have you thinking otherwise. We discuss this hot topic.There's lots of new releases including Black Widow #1, All-New X-Factor #1 and the end to Young Avengers!All of this and a lot more! Join us this Monday as we discuss all of this and we want to hear from you! Listen LIVE and either call in or Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy.
It's Monday and after a week off for the holiday we're back for the last episode of 2013! This week we've got a bunch lined up to discuss! IDW announced last week that a new "female" Transformer is joining the series in 2014! Windblade, a character chosen by fans, will be getting a limited series with a female writer and female artist.Since the year is wrapping up, we'll also be discussing some of the best comics of 2013! So join us for this latest show and we want to hear what you think! Call in and let us know what you think and hit us up with your thoughts on Twitter, @graphicpolicy.
It's Monday and that means a brand new episode of Graphic Policy Radio which mixes comics and politics. It's a review episode as we catch up on some of the hottest news and discuss the latest releases.
On tap for this week: Paul Dini's discussion to Kevin Smith about marketing to girlsImage Comics' VelvetWolverine and the X-MenYoung AvengersBOOM!'s Imagine Agents and more! So join us this week and Tweet us your thoughts @graphicpolicy.