Paul, Brian, and Nick talk about 2 Spooky stories for the season and 1 not so Spooky story but its ok, Paul is catching up on floppies. Also a discussion of the upcoming titles and making sure Letterers are credited on the main page.
Paul, Brian, and Nick talk about 2 Spooky stories for the season and 1 not so Spooky story but its ok, Paul is catching up on floppies. Also a discussion of the upcoming titles and making sure Letterers are credited on the main page.
Timestamps:
Panel: Paul Jaissle, Nick White, Brian Murray
Producer: Mike Rapin
Post Production & Social Media: Mike Rapin, Daniel Martinez
Prooflistener: Daniel Martinez
Editor: Zander Riggs
[0:13] This is the I Read Comic Books podcast, the best comic book podcast for regular comic book fans. I'm your host for this week's episode, Paul Jaissle, and I'm joined by 2 pumpkins in a patch, blissfully unaware of the grizzly fate that awaits them soon. Brian Murray. Ahoy hoy. And Nick White. Uh, somewhere in here, Linus in his blanket is going to show up and start like proselytizing. Oh, sorry, that's the other peanuts movie. I'm sorry, sorry, sorry. Wrong peanuts movie. Right, right. There are no Halloween biblical stories for him to recite in the great pumpkin. Yeah, why it just shows up? Actually, this holiday is based on a pagan, yeah, tradition. It's pronounced Salwin. Anyway. Nick, you really got to hit the T on peanuts.
[1:03] I know, I know. I know. P, P, P, nut.
[1:08] There we go. The Charles Schultz comic. Beloved. Peanuts. No, we will be talking about comics, but not peanuts. I'm assuming we were talking about other forms of comic books, other forms of comics. on this week's episode. We are getting close to Halloween, as implied by the pumpkin discussion. Um, so I'm curious, I have to ask as the host, um, how have you been and how a comic book's been? I'm going to start with you, Brian. I've been pretty good. I'm currently living the bachelor life. Kate is in Portugal for a couple weeks. Wow. She didn't let me come along because I don't fit her carry-on, but it's whatever. Um, comics wise, uh, I did a little bit of reading. Guys, for those who aren't who aren't watching the feed, Brian is like living in a fort constructed of Mountain Dew cans and Doritos bags, it's just, you gotta see it.
[2:16] Nick, if you could see my desktop right now, you will know how close to the truth you are. There's a reason my camera angle is what it is.
[2:26] I couldn't pass up the opportunity to read another wacky alien crossover. Marvel was nice enough to provide us with a different take on AVX. That's alien versus X-Men, number one. It's written by Kieran Gillen with art by Geraldo Borges and colors by Andrew Dollhouse. Um, quick summary of this book, um, Beast, Emma Frost, Cyclops, Kate Pride, and Wolverine are in space looking for something called the Phoenix Egg. I imagine this is a Phoenix Force thing that I'm not familiar with. Mike, Mike knows, I'm sure. Sure. And while they don't find the egg they're looking for, They do find eggs, but these are more of the chest burster variety. Obviously yes, yes. A week later, they come crashing to Earth, but instead of our heroes, we have a pack of superpowered xenomorphs.
[3:20] As we all know, the xenomorph incorporates its host genetic information when, uh, creating the embryo that will become the xenomorph proper. So we have xenomorphs that could do things like walk through walls and have healing factors and snicked out metal claws. I love that someone thought the xenomorph needs more. Like it when someone needs to, you know, reach out a helping hand and just give the perfect specimen, uh, you know, something else. Wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We get a brief image of an alien queen that is entirely made of diamond, which I'm excited to see where that goes.
[4:05] That does not say that they lack their usual features. They still have the acidic blood as we find out when Cannonball decides to blast through a bunch of them because he's invincible when he's moving and gets covered in blood and then it disintegrates the 2nd he stops moving. Amazing. Amazing Jamie Madrix is present. Purely to get kidnapped, and I assume provide infinite aliens later.
[4:35] It's not good. Is that the guy for the next show? I'm just showing my how much I know my my my X-Men. Is that the one from the FX show with Aubrey Plaza?
[4:47] No, thank he was in that. No. That's a legion. Okay. Legion. That's Legion. This is Amy Madrix is multiple, man. Oh, yep. The guy who duplicates when he's physically struck.
[5:01] Mike is so disappointed in you, Nick. You have no idea. I don't I don't fucking care, man. Like, uh, uh, Cyclops is a wolverine. It's not. Well, then I don't I don't stand a fucking chance.
[5:15] I am curious. How the Cyclops jeans are going to play in because is he a more tradition? If an X-Men, and he wasn't played by Kelsey Grammer. I'm just not well versed in the matter, okay? Or Alan Cummins. Where are the kinetic blasts gonna come from if they don't have eyes? I think I said this before on the show, and I think I said this recently. So folks are just going to have to bear with me here if you're marathoning through the show, or it's possible that I had this conversation with Mike and it was never on the show. I'm just gonna cover my bases here, folks. That being said, I kind of miss when you had these crazy crossovers, and one publisher had to like reach out to another publisher, and it was like this kind of like, awkward dance of like, we want to do this crossover, but like, you know, we're not gonna let you, um, um, have the the gargoyles, pants, robocop in the middle of issue one or whatever, right?
[6:13] Like there's going to be some standards, right? And I feel like now Marvel slash Disney slash ABC slash Lucasfilm slash 20th century Fox, um, slash, uh, Cyberdine. Um, Like, there's no game anymore. Like, they have all the toys, and they're just like these 2 fight. And I kind of miss... Go ahead. Go ahead. I'm going to say, Nick. I mean, I understand where you're coming from. This legitly sounds fun to me. What Brian is describing it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. is kind of exactly what I'd want from this comic with this title. I appreciate that they don't spend a lot of time screwing around. Like they deliver aliens in the 1st 12 pages.
[7:06] Oh, so it's more aliens than alien is what you're saying. Okay, okay, okay. More Cameron than Scott. That's fair. Yeah, there's nothing like horror about this comic. It is an... I mean, it's, you know, an action horror type thing. Yeah, yeah. More 2000s Resident Evil than 2026 Resident Evil. Okay, that's fair.
[7:32] I still think Judge Dred Alien is maybe like the, the, the best. May maybe the best. Yes. Well, this isn't the 1st one, right? Brian? Because Avengers also did this, right? Yeah, this is the issue one of 4 of this series. I think Avengers versus Aliens was also 4 issues.
[7:53] I think that was Hickman? Couldn't tell you. Yes, I read it, but I couldn't tell you.
[7:59] This one ends when cable comes back from the past. Naturally, despite it being time travel. They arrive too late in the past to actually stop the initial slaughter from taking place. Of course.
[8:16] Because, you know, time travel rules.
[8:21] I didn't recognize everyone who came back with him, but Deadpool was there. Um, so I'm sure we're going to have another source of infinite xenomorphs if they can get their hands on him. Well, Paul was on the fence before, but Paul is definitely going to read this book now. My ears started to tingle. you said Deadpool, yes. Paul's favorite.
[8:46] I imagine Paul washing up on a desert island and there's like nothing and there's nothing, there's nothing to read and he opens up the old pirate chest and it's just every volume of Deadpool ever collected.
[8:59] Well, if I'm not a desert island, I will need to start a fire somehow. So maybe that's a blessing in disguise, right? I didn't even try to set you up for that. That was that was great. Oh, man. Oh, man. Uh, yeah, I think that this 1st issue definitely gave me enough that I'm gonna keep buying it. Like, I don't think that it's gonna be, like, what one might call good. Um, but it's gonna be so much fun. Yeah, and that's all I want it to be. Not every book needs to be lined up to win an Eisner, you know? Yeah. And I want to make sure this book sells well so they keep doing more of these stupid fun alien crossovers.
[9:43] Yeah, I will say this sounds pretty awesome. Even as someone who's a casual aliens fan, an even more casual X-Men fan, I would be curious to check this out once it's all collected.
[9:55] Yeah, it would be nice if at some point, I assume they're going to make some big, stupid oversized book and throw the Avengers thing and the X-Men thing and maybe I'm just imagining it, but I thought there was a Black Panther crossover with Alien 2 or maybe that was... I think that was in the Avengers one. Maybe that was Predator. One of them also, one of the big Marvel series also did a Predator crossover, right? Am I just... I think that was Black Panther. I'm sure I'm sure Danny is completely losing it right now, but, um... Interesting. Well, yeah, I mean, alien. I mean, that's horror adjacent, so you're getting close to the Halloween theme there. So, yeah, Nick, what about you? How have you been and how have comic books been?
[10:41] You know, things, things have been good. I feel like, uh, fall is, is well and truly finally here, and uh, and uh, you know, things are just, it's, it's, it's pleasant to be outside, and I think we've got maybe uh, a week or 2 and then it will, you know, uh, you know, time to bust off the sweaters and the flannel and and uh, Flip flip the thermostat to heat. But, um, in, in the meantime, uh, I have also, uh, picked a, I think another book in the same line as, as, as Brian, it's a, it's a beloved franchise that's kind of embracing the the season as it is. And so I read Star Trek, and I'm sure this is my Midwest pronunciation coming through because I debated this earlier. I would say this book is hollow.
[11:42] Wean, uh, a joke on the hollow deck of Star Trek, and I'm sure some people are saying holo deck.
[11:52] Some people are wrong. They can get fucked. And... I'm gonna say it whatever way I want and it's Myers and it's grocery and it's roof and I don't care.
[12:06] Regional humor there. Sorry, guys. So I read Star Trek, Hollow Ween. Uh, two, number one. Uh, that's right. This is technically the 2nd one of these. Um, There, uh, this book is written by Alex Segura, who, I think, had the most recent run on the big, uh, flagship Star Wars book, for Marvel. He also wrote The Archies. That was the music band one, which had a church's crossover, which was perfect. Uh, relative newcomer artist, Bailey Rosenlund is on art. Uh, Rosenlund worked on Marvel's Voice's Pride, as well as Avengers Academy, Assemble. Color is JP Jordan, um, who's worked on such titles as Star Trek celebrations and VR troopers and letterer Jeff Eckleberry, who worked on Captain Planet and Silverwalks and some other stuff.
[13:06] Um, I want to say this out front because if you're looking for this book online or, uh, maybe you're just looking at covers or whatever, the book does not advertise that it is, um, the 2nd installment, um, so, yeah, you just want to be mindful of that. Uh, if you look on the inside cover, it does say it's the 2nd, but if you're just looking at the front, um, it just says hollow, Halloween. So just be aware. Um, so the original series debuted in 2023, that was written by Chris Sakira, drawn by Eisner nominated artist Joe Isma, that one was centered around the crew of Next Generation. Um, and as the title suggested, you know, the, the holodeck was royally fucked for the umpteenth time because 8 to 10% of all Star Trek episodes is somebody messing around with the hollow deck.
[14:02] It's it's just it's the thing. Um, they're, they're either using it for their LARPing or their, you know, uh, cosplaying as Sherlock Holmes, or they're doing some sort of sexually deviant uh, thing. I don't... Start reading Star Trek comics, I guess. Yeah.
[14:24] Like, that's like, if the holodeck, their number one rule is, have I gone in the holodeck? Yes. Step two, have the safety protocols failed? Yes. Can people now die in it? Absolutely. That's how the holodeck works. Um, So there's 2 things that really worked with that 1st series that also, I think, are present here and work as well. Um, the 1st one is that IDW has structured this miniseries. Uh, the release schedule of it so that there is an issue coming out every single week in October. So every week you get a new issue and it's still a spooky season. And obviously, like, this requires some pre-planning from the publisher, which I appreciate because, like, the alternative is, you know, some publishers want to get in on Halloween and they just try to get away with a one shot or a one off issue.
[15:16] Um, I think beneath the trees did that this year. There's nothing wrong with that. Um, other publishers, um, you know, they, they, they do a miniseries and they started in October, but like, by the time you're reading this 4th issue of this creepy, spooky thing, like Santa's showing up and you're ushering in the new year and it feels kind of weird, or you do it from the reverse side and you start celebrating in the middle of summer and it ends at Halloween and it's still kind of freaking weird. So I really like this plan. I like this way of organizing how it comes out. I think it sort of like keeps you in the mood and it's, it, it feels more, more topical, right? Um, The 2nd thing is, Um, And I think from the outside looking in, some people who maybe aren't like big Star Trek fans or just more casual Star Trek fans think, oh, Star Trek, horror, that feels kind of gimmicky, that feels, you know, kind of mashup.
[16:12] It doesn't seem like a natural fit, but like if you're even a little versed in Star Trek, I think you would, you would argue that like, Horror is actually one of the bigger like sub themes of, of, of Star Trek. Obviously, like, you know, the big things. It's a sci-fi show and an exploration and, you know, finding new worlds, you know, to infinity and beyond all the, sorry, that's BuzzLight or whatever. Anyway. Um, so, but like, for, for, for shows, and I'm talking like TNG, I'm talking Deep Space 9, like you've got these massive shows, they go on for 7 years, like 27 episodes each season, 45 minutes each episode, like, they're, they're gonna go off and do some weird stuff, and, and I would say, you have at least a couple episodes every season that are horror slash spooky slash, uh, terror adjacent. And so I think, I think, I think horror is thematically not a bad match for Star Trek.
[17:15] So I I'm okay with that. Um, In terms of this series, uh, the narrative is shifted to Deep Space 9. Um, for those who are, I don't know, weirdly worried that the show is going, maybe you've been putting off watching this massive fucking, you know, 30 year old show for years and years and you're worried this comic is gonna like ruin things for you. Like, I guess I have to cover like the .003% for which this is a thing. Um, I, I would say that I think this falls somewhere between like early season 4 and somewhere during season 4 early season 5 because like Cisco is promoted to captain, minor against spoilers for like a 30-year-old show and like, I'm not going to geek out forever, but like there are reasons as to why I know it falls in this window.
[18:11] And the other things are, wait, just everyone, just go watch Deep Space Nine. All right? Like I said, it's the 7 seasons, 27 episodes each, 45 minutes per episode. It's, what is it, like a week? You know, you can do that. It's fine. You can do that. So, anyway, um, Deep Space 9. I, this, which is a space station. We'll leave it at that. It's a space station, folks. It's on the edge of the galaxy. It's been entrusted to host one of the largest diplomatic summits in Federation history. Um, this means you got a lot of dignitaries, a lot of demands, a lot of them don't like each other, of course. Um, and like any DS 9 episode, rather quickly, we're going to split the party and we're going to have a B plot.
[18:54] And the B plot is that Cisco and Major Kara have to go investigate some moon that's giving off some bizarre power signature that Starfleet thinks someone is going to weaponize apparently. So they go off. Wharf gets put in charge to comedic effect. Now Wharf has to like, glad hand, all of these diplomats and massage their egos. And of course, you know, that's that's perfect for wharf. Wharf is exactly the right person for that. That's a joke. And, um, So, yeah, and then everything gets kind of weird. Uh, Commander O'Brien hasn't seen for a couple days. There's weird technical issues. The comms don't work. everyone starts panicking. And then another ship appears and there's a big revelation and that's just the beginning of this spooky book.
[19:43] Um, I honestly, I think it works. Segura, uh, Alex Segura clearly gets track. All of the characters sound like they're supposed to sound. Worf sounds like Worf. O'Brien sounds like O'Brien. Quark is like work. The tone and pacing. Feel exactly like what you would get in the 1st 10 to 12 minutes of your average Star Trek episode. Um And the other thing I would say is this relative newcomer. Rosenlund on art. I really, really like what we're seeing. There's kind of like some, what I would say are like, light, it feels like light manga influences to the art aesthetic, which I like. Uh, everyone is also like a little weirdly like pretty.
[20:36] If you look at the cover of the 1st issue, you'll see what I mean. Everyone is like weirdly, slightly hot, even the characters that should not be weirdly. I mean, obviously Dr. Julian Basher is going to be weirdly, slightly hot, but like everyone else is also, even like Odo is like weirdly, slightly attractive. It's weird.
[21:00] I'm not going to explore this deep, deeper. Um, but I really, really like the look. It, um, it doesn't look grounded, like the other IDW flagship titles. Uh, and when I say it's more stylized, like it's not trying to ape the lower decks aesthetic, which, which good, good. Like that is its own thing, don't don't mess with that. Uh, line work reminds me a lot of Christopher Mitten, which, for me, that's a good thing. Um, yeah, I would say check it out, check out the original. I think it's a lot of fun. I think it's relatively approachable. I think if maybe you haven't seen any DS 9.
[21:47] You could still pick it up, but obviously there's stuff that's just gonna like, you know, that's the stuff you're gonna laugh or appreciate with if if you've actually watched some of it. But, um, yeah. Yeah. Nice, nice. Again, it's seasonally appropriate book. I did not pick a comic that is seasonally appropriate, so I appreciate the 2 of you kind of kept with the spirit of the theme. Yeah, yeah. Well, um, as Nick mentioned here in West Michigan, we're slowly approaching, um, you know, Apple Orchard visiting season, um, wearing your sweater out of doors. Um, yeah, that type of weather, uh, it was a beautiful day here, the day we're recording. So I got my last rays of sunshine in, soak them in before winter, uh, wears its ugly head eventually.
[22:32] But, uh, yeah, it was a good time to, um, reflect and read some comics. Um, I know I say it every time I'm on the show. I constantly catching them on floppies. I am reading books that came out back in July and August. So I'm catching up slowly. So that's why I did. I took some time to catch up on the current Batwoman series that DC's doing. I read issues 4 or 5 and 6 recently to talk about on this episode. This is, of course, Batwoman, written by Greg Rucka, Art by Danny, who did the 1st 5 issues. Jeff Spokes, did issue six, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, and Letters by Hassan Atzmane Elhao. And I have to admit, I bought the 1st issue of this. Obviously, like a lot of people, I love Greg Raka's take on Batwoman, the elegy series he did back in 2009, 2010, fantastic comics, that series he did with Jace Williams III.
[23:20] So I picked this up and I kind of thought the 1st couple issues were kind of slow, kind of laggy to me. It seems like this story just kind of drops you into what's going on and again, Elegy came out. Uh, 15 years ago. So it took me a while to remember what exactly was going on with current Batwoman cat, Kate Kane. But by the time issue 4 rolls around and we get to the end of the 1st arc with issue 5, the beginning of the next arc with issue 6, I'm all on board. I think this is great. If you read Elegy, or if you read any of Raka's work on Batwoman, you're gonna like this, um, if you remember that initial Elegy story, which ran in detective comics, focus on Kate Kane, Batwoman, and her relationship with her twin sister, Beth, who, spoiler alert, had become the villain Alice, inspired by the character from Alice in Wonderland.
[24:08] Um, the previous Batwoman series ended with Beth slash Alice, uh, the split personality situation there, believed uh, to be dead following a fight with Batwoman. But this series sees Alice has re-emerged and assumed, against slight spoil alert, her sister's identity. Uh, so Batman tracks her down, um, and uh, ends up in Greece where the series takes place. And uh, As I said, I think the initial issues were kind of slow to get around, but once it picks up, it's been really interesting. This 1st arc eschatology kind of wraps up or puts us right where we were with Kate and Alice when Greg Rucker last was writing the book. And, um, kind of drops us into this new status quo, the characters, and uh, issue 6 is kind of like the prequel where we see, oh, how do we end up in Greece?
[24:57] How did we get here? So I think reading this collected would probably be an advantage. If anyone's curious about picking this up instead of reading it month to month, like I've kind of been doing. I think, um, like a lot of people, like I mentioned, I love Raka's take on this character because she's complicated. She has a traumatic background, but has a support system. It is, you know, it is a batwoman or Batman bat, whatever suffix, uh, type of book. So you have that sort of, you know, it's a bat family book. Also, I love the sort of background that Rucket gives to all of these stories involving, uh, Kate Kane is the, the religion of evil. Basically, you have the crime Bible and an entire religion based on crime itself.
[25:44] And this series also picks up on that. We see her hunting down these members in Greece. And I just, again, as a DC nerd who loves the new gods, it's so smart to say, like, you have a literal god of evil in canon, in continuity, of course there's going to be a bunch of religious zealots who worship Darkside as a god and have a crime Bible based on that. I just love that whole concept.
[26:11] I can't imagine why anybody would worship Darkside. Like, what is he going to do for you in exchange for your worship? You know, I haven't read the book. I mean, maybe you get if I get my hands on a copy of this crime Bible, I can lay it out for you, but. Oh, God, wow. Yeah, there we go. There we go. All I can think is like, he kills you first. Well, I mean, again, the omega sanction is the death that is life, so technically he doesn't kill you. Just send you backwards through time as we saw happen to Batman at the end of uh, uh, final crisis. So, it gives you more time to do more crime, just back in time. More time for more crime. I guess that's true. I just want to say, I really appreciate you.
[26:52] You bringing this up, Paul, because for me, uh, there's like 5 or 6 Greg Rucker books that are in limbo hell uh, and have been there for maybe 5 to 10 years. And so sometimes I'm like, what is this guy getting up to? Like, what is he doing instead of giving me what I want? Uh... And so sometimes, sometimes, sometimes I get an answer. And I guess this this this is one of those answers. Um, and maybe one day. I mean, it would be perfect right now, Greg, if you're listening, black magic, let's deliver this in October. I think I think it's time. Let's do it. Let's do it. Let's do it. I will, you know, I'll just say, um, The thing about Greg Rucker is like, I, I don't read everything he does, so the fact he's back to writing Batwoman that speaks to me. So hopefully that he keeps that on the front burner.
[27:49] I also want to fall upon that. You know, you mentioned um, black magic with the wonderful Nicole Scott on our work on that. I mentioned the original Batwoman Elegy series that has J. Williams III on it. And then this book, he has Danny. Rucka always has the best artist working for him. You know what I mean? So I think that's or working with him. Yeah. And I think that's part of it as well. Like, you kind of also, is it him or is it the artist? You don't want to you wouldn't want to have a fill-in artist jump in on black magic. That wouldn't work at all. So, like, you know, I think I want to mention the artwork on this book because I really loved Danny's artwork on the 1st 5 issues. Her artwork. It's one of those things that, when the 1st glance, it looks very simple, but the more you look at it, you realize like, oh, this is really complex and the way that she uses heavy black shadows, like thick, heavy ink lines to imply shape and shadow, it gives the, the artwork that, again, at 1st glance, oh, you think, oh, it's a very simple, very minimal artwork.
[28:48] It has a very, uh, complex depth to it and shape to it, a lot of emotion to it that it really appreciated, and it really fits the Greek setting for the story. These issues take place in Greece. There's mentions of Greece, Greek mythology. And Danny herself was born and raised and studied art in Greece. So it all kind of fits the tone of the book really well. And then Jeff Spokes takes over on issue 6 and he has a more traditional, you know, superhero comic book style, but because it's a flashback to set up where we are with the 1st 5 issues. I thought it worked really well. Again, it's one of those things where you switch artists, but it fits for the arc and it fits for the story. So overall, I'm glad I'm on board with this, like I said, the 1st issue didn't really grab me.
[29:35] It took a couple issues to get rolling for me personally. If you're someone who really loved the 1st elegy arc that Rucka did with Batwoman, I would highly suggest picking this up once it's collected. It might be at this point, like I said, I'm reading issues that came out a couple months ago. So at this point it might be already be collected for you. I would highly recommend Batwoman. So those are books that we read this week. We can also talk about books. We excited to be reading soon. Nick, I'm going to throw it over to you. What is going to be on the top of your pile for this week? Yeah, so for me, recently, and by recently, I mean, excuse me, um, September.
[30:14] Uh, Cruel Kingdom 2 started. Uh, this is from Oni. This is part of their EC comics revival. Obviously, they have more than a couple of these titles out at this point. The big one was like epitaphs of the Abyss, which was their horror book. And, um, Yeah, I, I, but, but this one is their fantasy book. They also have like cruel universe, which is their sci-fi book. The list goes on. Um, So the 2nd volume started in September and I figured, well, maybe this is the perfect time to go back and in preparation for that. Not that it matters, it's a fucking anthology, but uh, But read the 1st volume, see if I like it. See if if I'm picking up what they're putting down and and, you know, kind of feel out if I want to continue this book specifically.
[31:11] Um, so I read that. I'll just, uh, run through all these names and butcher about 50%, but we'll try. Uh, so this involves a writer Greg Pock, Al Ewing, Chris Condon, Ben H. Winter, Steve Niles, Cameron, Shiddek, Matt Bors, Christopher Cantwell, Karina Bechto, J. Holtam. Artists are Leo Max, Kano, Charlie Adler, Andrea Moody, PJ Holden, David Lapham, Valeria, Burzo, John McCrae, Caitlin Yarski, and Brian Level. Colors by Inaki.
[31:49] As Paiu. Sorry, man, I know I nailed, I know I got that one wrong. Ooh, maybe. Michael Ateia. Uh, Michelle Mazden, Madden, Nick Filarty, Francesco Segala, Lee Lowridge, Color Flatter, Sabrina Del Grasso, and letter, letterers, Richard Starkings, and Tyler Smith. Uh, Oni. Um, just because I made a big rant about this before. Letterers belong on the credits page.
[32:21] They don't belong on the, quote, here is the small print of all of Oni's corporate big wigs and production staff 2 point font page. They belong on the credits page. Fix this. Um, Also, really would like when I'm reading an anthology book, if when I reach the next story and the title of the story is there, so I clearly know we're reading a different story, I would really love to see some credits there, so I don't have to go back to the main credits page. But honestly, if you could fix the letterer thing, I would completely ignore this 2nd thing. I would give me the 1st and I will let you go on the 2nd one. Okay? We expect to hear back from you the next week. Only. I say so many nice things about you lately.
[33:12] so let's make this happen. Um, yes. Uh, so I read these 4 issues. Uh, I want to talk about 2 of my favorite stories within that anthology. Um, kind of disturbingly, uh, it's like the 1st 2 stories an issue one, which is like maybe not. I mean, look, lead with your best, right? Lead with your best. There's nothing wrong with the 1st story being great. That's that I would expect as much. That's fine.
[33:47] It's maybe not great when it's the 1st 2 stories that are my favorite. Again, personal preference is, whatever it is. And honestly, I found issues 3 and 4 markedly Not my taste compared to one and two. But I'll elaborate on that a little. So the 1st story I really liked is called Blood of the Robo King. This is by writer Greg Pock, an artist Leo Max. Also, that's the, you know, pen name of Massimiliano Leonardo. Uh, Leonardo has worked on Ghost Lore, and the more recent book, uh, Benjamin, for those who forgot. I think that was from Oni. It was like 3 issues. It was basically a what if Philip K. Dick came back from the dead kind of book that was smarter than everyone else, and I won't admit that I was way too dumb for what they were trying to put out there. Okay, but I tried.
[34:44] Okay? I tried. Um, And colorist, Inaki. Oh, here's that name again. Jesus. S Piazu? Oh, I'm so sorry.
[34:57] It's all right. Um, so in a pretty prescient tale, pac depicts a seemingly medieval village on the edge of being overrun by outsiders. We learned that this isn't actually in the past, but it's actually years from now, after a societal collapse, that is immediately technological and then eventually societal. Uh, and now, like these people are trying to cling to these rules that they have in their codex, these rules that will prevent them from hopefully making the same mistakes. These rules include, you know, thou shalt not kill, and we're not going to have kings, and we're also not going to revive a robot that is quite adept at killing people. Um, these are all covered in the New Testament. These are all covered in the New Testament for those who are not sure.
[35:45] Bring back the robot. What's the worst? Brian, it's interesting you say that.
[35:54] So, faced with their potentially imminent destruction. Some of the villagers flip the on switch on sadistic Wally, and they promptly crown it. Like, they literally crown it. Okay? Go big or go home, right? Uh, so, and after this cybernetic savior brutally dispatches their enemies, amassing at the gates. Well, because the robot killed them, the villagers' hands are clean, which is a big thing for them. Furthermore, since this blood drenched Bay Max, I know, guys, right? Am I a hack or what? Uh, has killed people? The robot now has to die by their laws, and the villagers can and do that because you can't kill a machine, so there's no blood on their hands. And it just becomes this really darkly humorous kind of like dancing around all of the rules and the legalese of like this set of rules that they've decided they're going to adhere to. You know what I mean?
[36:53] Like, it can kill them.
[36:56] And that's fine, but also that's a crime. So it has to die. But we can kill it. Because it's not a person. anyway. It's really funny. Uh, and everything is fine for a while, uh, until folks kind of get tempted to boot up their cybernetic lord and savior again, but it's not like because they're in dire straits, but they're like, oh, well, what if we did a preemptive attack? Maybe we should turn it on again. And you can start to see this really terrible slippery slope that kind of explores.
[37:33] Interestingly, sort of this moral question of what happens when robots are better able to adhere to their programming or ethics more than people are. Um, and I really like that. Like, don't get me wrong. The end is nigh. Sam Altman, open AI, Grock, I fear it all. I quake in the terror that is impending from those meta glasses on Mark Zuckerberg's face. But I like this idea. Um, maybe one that kind of reflects older ideas about machines that like, If we make the machine and the machine adheres to the rules that we prescribe for it, maybe it in the end could maybe be better than us in some ways because it's uncompromising. You know what I mean? Like, it will do what we tell it to do, and humanity in some ways.
[38:35] is willing to compromise and equivocate and, um, find ways to dance around their own rules and laws, you know what I mean? Um, So I found that. Deeply funny and equally disturbing at the same time. And, but that, again, like, it's, it's, I'm sure people are like, Mick, you spoil this, that's only like half the story. okay? Like, where it goes is fascinating and disturbing and it's just, I, I really, really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed Leo Max artwork. It's so good. It's weird and it's brutal. It's funny, it's gross. He's able to like equally handle, um, drawing murder robot and incinerated villagers with equal a plume. Uh, it's it's, uh, I really enjoyed it. Um, and again, like it's the 1st story in the book.
[39:34] So, and it's like the cover of the book. So if you can't fucking nail this, like, you know, um, the other one I really liked was friendly visitors. 2nd story in the book, written by Al Ewing, uh, drawn by Kano or Conno. Um, and it kind of made me realize 102nd tangent. Uh, I've read borderline nothing by Al Ewing. Um, but I guess he pretty much is very much uh, holding a torch for Marvel all the time. So that's why.
[40:12] If I, if I very, very briefly, will tell you track down a copy of Zombo, which is a book that alluing, a story he did for 2000 AD, about a part human part zombie that was created by the British government to fight wars. It's one of the funniest comics I've ever read. And I think you would appreciate that. Zombo is right up your alley. So that's my pitch. I love everything Al Ewing's written that I've read. Zambo is the top of the heap for me. I think the only thing I read by him, and I didn't even finish it was we only we only find them when we're dead, they're dead. Right. Whichever. Yep, when we find the one they're dead. Yeah. So... Anyway, haven't read much by them. I really liked this. Uh, this story, again, like, um, Blood of the Robo King, for a book that's obviously supposed to be fantasy driven, um, this is also a story that seems more interested in the intersection of sci-fi and fantasy, which great.
[41:13] That's fine. Um, So this one, you've basically got these these 2 characters, they're more or less counterparts for Frodo and Gandalf, okay? You've got Brambleberry Dew, right? And the more magically inclined storm eye. They live in a community that's clearly a copy paste of Hobbiton. And they're coming to terms with these new visitors that are arriving from the stars. And this guy that shows up is very blonde hair, blue eyes, as Aryan as they come, humanoid, um, and he's part of a mission to protect the, quote, vulnerable. Uh, that live on, quote, wild worlds of dangerous magic that needs science to make them safe.
[41:55] Uh-huh. But is there promised shield that he's going to give them a protector or is it a cage? And just what will these visitors want in return for their little racket? Uh, it's a clever genre mashup of ideas. It's got a really fun twist at the end. It's exactly the sort of thing you would want to see at the end of an episode of the twilight zone. I really enjoyed it. Kano is the perfect artist for this. He's so expressive. He's so good at handling funny and interesting material. Uh, I think he's got a real knack for nailing the fact that this feels like kind of a mashup of Lord of the Rings meets forbidden planet aesthetics. But also he's unified them in his own art style, so it doesn't feel like it's one guy.
[42:42] Aping 2 different aesthetics. He's like made each of them his own and it's within his own style. I like that. Um, That said, and I want to briefly talk about, I say briefly, we'll try to make this a minute or two. I wanna talk about the rest of this book. I would love it. If some of the other stories in this book would learn from this story's tone and its ending. Far too many other stories in this book are unrelentingly dark. And look, I get it. The book is called Cruel Kingdom. Not everyone has a good fucking time kingdom. I get it. That being said. Far too many of these other stories, unrelentingly dark. And then the twist at the end is that the already gray anti-hero character is actually even worse than the villain.
[43:35] Like, I can only take that so many times. Um, A few of these are fine. A 100 plus pages of them is not. Back to back to back. No, thank you. It kind of feels bad, man. Um, your ending can and should subvert expectations, but it shouldn't have me reaching for antidepressants. Um, Um, yeah, like, I, I, I, I feel like, You, I, I get that the idea of these books, and it was the idea of the original EC comics books, and clearly it's the same thing in Twilight Zone is that, It's like a fable or maybe there's a kind of moral and there's going to be an ending and it's going to upend expectations or put the whole thing on its head. That's great. That doesn't mean things need to immediately get dark. Right? Like, there are other ways to do it.
[44:31] Um, yeah. So, yeah, so Nick, I don't, don't, uh, don't think I didn't notice your little, like, loophole here where it's the top of your pile and you just talked about a book you already read. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I am docking you points. I haven't, I mean, I think I think I read like a little of the 1st issue at one point, but I hadn't read the rest. Okay. Am I going to read volume two? You know, I'm gonna try it. I'm, I'm curious to see... tonally, if it picks up where the end of this volume left off. If it is a little more even keeled, great. If it continues to be really depressing, I don't know. Um, But those 2 stories were great. Those 2 stories were great. I really love those two.
[45:23] They sound good. Yeah. Nice. Yeah, we uh, we in America are creeping towards a midterm election right now, so you really don't want anything that's going to like emotionally unbalance you. anymore than the default state of the country is doing. Yeah. Mike and I have talked about this a lot, and this could easily become a post show thing as well, but it's like, I hate starting to sound like the old man sitting on the porch, yelling at the clouds, who's like, I miss old comics. Comics used to be escapism, comics used to make me feel good and it used to, you know, whatever. And that's what I want. And, We used to hear that all the time, 10, 12, 15 years ago. I used to hear that all the time from all the old heads.
[46:05] And, you know, now I'm kind of saying it, but it's like, obviously it's because in the current sociopolitical state. Uh, I I do want a little reprieve from that, and I don't blame them for it, but so many of the books that are out these days, it feels like, and I don't fault them. They're trying to speak to the times, but so many of them are like addressing like, you know, the modern state of things that I'm like, 0 my god, like, I can't do this 24 seven. Yeah, hanging out by my fingernails already. Part of my part of my day cannot be this.
[46:46] Uh, and if that means I go back and I'm just reading Garfield strips from the mid 80s, so be it. I'll do it. Um, I'm not a big fan of this anti-Munday pro lasagna agenda you're pushing on the snow next. Yeah, I know. I know. I'm sorry. No, I know. I would be remiss if I didn't agree with you with that. It is sometimes a struggle to pick media that you want to engage with that isn't just going to reinforce the negativity you're feeling day to day. But, um, I don't know. We're trying, and I think we occasionally find comics that can kind of do that for us. And not that commenting isn't important, but escapism is equally sort of welcome now and again. It's a balancing act. It's a balancing act. Yes, yes. So, um, we also, I want to move on and say we also have some people, uh, on Discord, who threw us there, top of the pile picks.
[47:44] We got Danny. He's going to be reading Skinbreaker, the hard cover collection be coming out soon, they note. Mike will be reading uh, predict X 99 by uh, Ren McDonald. Mongoose will be reading Himawari House, and Avocado Kenobi. We be reading Monsterpiece Theater, Kaiju of Oz, which, yes, sounds like escapism to me. If you want a book that maybe isn't about current politics, that sounds like the one to pick. Um, as for me, top of my pile, um, I have... Another book that, uh, might be irreverent to the point. Well, it might be some nice escapism, and that is the new Lisa Hanaalt, OGN, entitled, I can't stop thinking about horses and sex.
[48:29] I'm a big fan of Lisa Handwald's artwork and her comics. Um, I read her previous books, my Dumb Dirty Eyes, uh, hot dog taste test, and coyote cow, sorry. And coyote dog girl. If you haven't read any of Lisa Handwall's previous comics, you might recognize her artwork since she did the character designs for Bojack Horseman and the spinoff show whose name I'm forgetting on Netflix. So if you ever seen... I think. Yes, that yeah, that sounds right. So if you're familiar with the art style in those comics, she did the initial character designs for the animators. So her personal comics kind of capture that same thing where there's a lot of anthropomorphizing. There's a lot of human annual hybrids and there's that sort of like cartooning style that she uses.
[49:19] According to the publisher, John Quarterly, this new book is, quote, the honest, silly, horny, and vulnerable memoir of a horse girl, now under 40s, and reflecting back on a lifetime of obsessions. And I think that's a lot of Lisa Hennewalt's work. It feels part diary, part memoir, part just, you know, putting emotions and feelings out on the page, unfiltered at times. And I think I really like that about her work. It's someone, it's something that, um, is candid and allows her to be herself through art. And to be very vulnerable and very honest with it, which is something that, you know, I personally find difficult to do. So I admire when an artist is able to do that. Because more often than not, there is something relatable about very personal experiences. You know, there's something universal about, um, things everyone goes through.
[50:06] So, Um, I also find your comics to be incredibly funny, very silly, often horny and occasionally incredibly filthy, so it speaks right to my aesthetics. So, um, maybe not everyone's cup of tea. But again, with a title like, I can't stop thinking about horses and sex. You kind of know what you're getting into. No one's going to accuse her of burying the lead. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Exactly.
[50:35] I'm for one very excited that she's back. It's been a few years since her last original book, which was coyote dog girl, which was actually a narrative work. There's actually like a story in that. So it's not as autobiographical. So getting back to her roots with this one. I am very excited. And that comes out this week. So we'll be on top of my pile once I get to the shop to pick it up. Um, Brian, we're going to end with you. What's on the top of your pile? Uh, yeah, top my pile is actually sitting on my porch right now because I haven't gone outside to get the mail yet today. Uh, that is Dungeon Crawler Carl, volume two.
[51:11] This is the web tune adaptation of the novel series of the same name. Um, This volume collects issues 14 through 30 or episodes 14 through 30, whatever you want to call them, of the web tune. Um, I don't really have a ton to say, just because I've probably talked about this series like ad nauseum at this point. Um, but the, the style of data patient has really grown on me over time. I still think that Carl looks a little bit too much like a wimpy anime boy, but that's kind of my own issue. It seems like Dungeon Crawler, Carl, is like this generation's resident evil 4 where you blink and it's on 3 more platforms that you didn't, like, next thing you know, it's like you can play it on your end gauge and you can play it on your microwave and uh, and on the Nintendo Wii.
[52:07] I feel like every time someone brings this up. I'm like, oh, the book and they're like, no, the audiobook. And I'm like, oh, the audiobook. And they're like, no, it's a comic now. It's like, okay. I can't... There's also a full cast audio drama. adaptation. Right. And like, isn't there like a cartoon coming soon? I thought so. It's going to be a live action TV show on Peacock. Oh. Okay. Wow. I'm trying to remain optimistic about that, but my confidence is low. Look, especially given... If if if they could do justice for Twisted Metal, I'm sure they can they can handle this stupid book.
[52:51] Yeah, I just, I haven't liked a thing that Seth McFarlane has worked on since I was a teenager, so I'm not like super confident that this is going to be great. Um, I just imagine you're like a huge American dad fan, but you would, like, have no interest in family. Oh, how weird. How weird would that be? You're just a big Cleveland show guy fan or I can't remember the other one he did. Guys, remember, remember, remember when Seth McFarlane was such a big deal that he literally had the entire, like, Friday night or a Saturday Sunday night block on Fox was like all him. That was that was fucking crazy. I have the same issue with him that I have with like South Park where like after a certain age, I thought, wait, this is just really fucking mean.
[53:39] It stopped being funny for me. Yeah, I remember South Park is like, everyone is dumb. I'm like, not everyone is dumb. Some of these people, some of these people you think are stupid or stupid, but it's not everyone. Um, interesting, interesting. Now, Brian, have you, you said you're reading this. This is clearly the graphic novel or web tune or whatever. Have you read the books 1st or is this your your entry point is is is the graphic novels? Yeah, I've read the books. I've got the audiobooks. Okay. Okay. Gotcha. interesting. Yeah. And, you know, yes, this is one of those, one of those franchises that I see everywhere I'm online. I see everyone talking about it. I literally know nothing about it.
[54:25] And so like, there's certain things that I'm just like a casual observer. It's like, I love that everyone enjoys this. It's probably not for me. Yeah, that's great. Oh, I feel pretty ding dang confident this is not a Paul thing. Sure, that's fine. We'll be reading books about, you know, you know, these memoirs I just discussed about. I can't stop thinking about horses and sex. That's not for everyone either. So there you go. Yeah. Yeah. I think that if you got into like the 3rd or 4th book, you might start liking it, but I would not recommend try to like push in.
[55:04] I love now when people are like, well, if you get to book seven, it gets, how many books are there? Well, there's like eight, but if you make it to seven, I think it's going to be your thing. I know. I'm sorry. I love that. As time goes on, the books do become more about like building community and standing up against this authoritarian alien takeover of the planet. Um, but it is like a couple 1000 pages of violence and dick jokes to get to that point. And so it's not... feel free to weigh in on this, but I have heard a couple people who have read this book, who I would argue are sort of, from the outside looking in, like I wouldn't consider it naturally for them, and they've been like, uh, it feels like I'm reading an RPG.
[55:53] Like, I'm reading a video game. And so that is why, Paul, I do not think this is for you. Yeah, I mean, the genre is literally called lit RPG, because it is written as if it is like a game taking place. And there's, you know, uh, uh, in in canon reason. There's a Holmesian explanation or Watsonian or whatever it is. Um, like it makes sense, but there is also just like a lot of people reading numbers at you in the early, especially in the 1st book.
[56:30] And like, that's why Kate, my wife, Kate, could not get through the books because we listen to the 1st audiobook together. And she's like, it's just so many stat screens. And I respect that. Yeah, yeah. We just find out Paul, are you secretly, like, loved the Minecraft movie and, like, he's, uh, Nick, I gotta, I can't, again, I'm trying to keep Kayfabe on the show. We can't expose the business. You know, that's for the, that's for the Patreons. That might be a good episode. So you guys need to watch the Minecraft movie. I actually want you that to happen because I want to make Paul sit through them.
[57:12] couldn't imagine. So very quickly to wrap up here, Brian. So I know you mentioned the characterization of the main character. Are you finding that the graphic novel isn't just a carbon copy of the books? Is it adding something else? Is it different reading experience or experience than just listening to the book? It's definitely a much more streamlined experience. Like, I think that for somebody like Kate, who listened to the audiobook or who Rich tried to read the print book, who struggled with how slow things get when those stat screens pop up. It's much easier to just breeze through or flat out ignore those when you're reading a graphic novel because it will just be like a panel showing the stat screen instead of somebody reading every word on it.
[58:01] Oh, that's what I was going to ask. In in the prose version? Do you actually get graphics or are you actually having to sit through all of this as just words on a page? I don't know. I haven't actually seen this. Oh, right, right. I'm sorry, that's right. You said audiobook, right, right, right, right, right. That's right. I'm assuming that it is, like, just a chunk in the book that is probably easily recognizable that you can glaze over if you want. Yeah. Interesting. I was just curious. The magic of comics, you can give all the information very quickly. So, yeah. Interesting. Well, we have quite a variety of books that we're looking forward to. So listeners out there, if there's anything you're excited about.
[58:44] Be sure to let us know. We love hearing from you. I want to thank Nick and Brian for being with me on the show today. I want to thank Danny for proof listening. I want to thank Mike for letting me host. Thanks Xander for editing. Thank you for listening. Until next time, remember, comics are good. And so are you.