0:00-16:39: Greetings! Now longer are we dawdling walruses of last week, unsure of where and how to start. No, this week we are back to being lithe jungle cats, quick to leap on our conversational prey, which means you are quickly whisked away into a world in which Graeme received a copy of Transformers The Motion Picture 30th Anniversary DVD and tries to make it through the special features. And this leads to a discussion of buying and re-buying the same movie/book/graphic novel/whatever, including a discussion of DC’s Absolute format, Jeff’s ogling of the iPad Pro, and more.
16:39-38:16: Which leads into the stuff we’ve been reading, with Jeff talking a bit about Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 by Nick Spencer and Jesús Saiz (just out on Marvel Unlmited); which Graeme contrasted with the Armor Wars/Stark Wars storyline of Iron Man by David Micheline and Bob Layton from long ago, some of the old issues of Marvel Spotlight featuring the Son of Satan. How densely packed the comics of yesteryear! How much less focused! Also discussed: supporting characters, a weird re-working of the Bechdel test, the upcoming Batman Annual, the current Suicide Squad comic, and more.
38:16-49:37: Also! Jeff read the first four issues of Karnak by Warren Ellis, Gerardo Zaffino, and Roland Boschi. As it turns out, because Karnak #4 hit Marvel Unlimited, Graeme also read those first four issues this week. So we sit down and have quite a Karnak klatch, spiraling out to talk about Ennis and his upcoming Wild Storm project for DC, rumors about who will or won’t be working on it, and more.
49:37-56:30: Which somehow leads us back to Captain America: Steve Rogers and the second issue that Graeme has read, but Jeff still hasn’t. but turns yet again into a discussion about Rick Jones and all the horrible fads he ends up stuck with, and how Snapper Carr managed to end up being cooler than Jones just by not existing.
56:30-1:08:32: Graeme feels compelled to remind Jeff what issues of Fantastic Four we’re going to be reading for Baxter Building, which is apparently news to Jeff based on his startled gasp. (Issues #217-231!) And Graeme has also read the upcoming first issue of the new New Talent Showcase from DC, and the “conclusion” of the current Wonder Woman storyline that does not feel like a conclusion to Graeme at all. Also discussed: Greg Rucka and retconning the John Byrne way; similar changes going on over in the Superman books; Jeff’s reading of Superwoman; and more.
1:08:32-1:23:11: Speaking of DC books, Jeff just finished that first arc of Batgirl by Hope Larson and Rafael Albuquerque and Jeff is…pretty underwhelmed but curious: what did Graeme, who recommended the book, think? The answer may surprise you! Also discussed: the joys of digital, Love at Fourteen, vol. 1 by Fuka Mizutani; the horrors of Diamond Previews; and more.
1:23:11-1:28:13: “Hey, I don’t suppose you read Betty Boop #1, did you?” asks Jeff out of nowhere but because this is the the week it is, Graeme says, “I have! I’ve read the first two issues, actually.” So we’re off to the races with a discussion of the Dynamite incarnation of everyone’s favorite pliable intellectual property courtesy of Roger Langridge and Gisèle Lagacé.
1:28:13-1:56:50: Sadly, when Graeme says, “hey, you know what I have been reading recently? Greg Pak’s Battlestar Galactica!” this is the note kind of week where Jeff then says, “Hey, me too!” But we do go on to discuss Pak’s BSG series, as well as a discussion on a possible sweet spot for licensed comics, including Tarzan on the Planet of the Apes, Star Trek Beyond, Zootopia, Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye, X-Men: Apocalypse, a very brief digression about Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, some of the video games Jeff wants licensed comics for, the licensed video games work of Garth Ennis now and then, and more.
1:56:50-2:31:51: Hey, do you miss those good old days where we’d make noises like it was the end of the podcast, and then a new subject came up and we’d just keep going? If so, then THIS IS YOUR LUCKY PODCAST, WHATNAUT! First, it’s some talk about Black Friday comic book sales, both in digital and print. Jeff mentions enjoying some comics he bought on one such sale, the first four issues of Red Team: Double Tap and Center Mass by Garth Ennis and Craig Cermak, and Graeme makes a comment about Ennis phoning shit in, and hoo boy are we off to the races. Join us for an extended battle of the straw men, as Graeme and I slug it out over the later careers of Garth Ennis and Warren Ellis. As you might expect, Graeme makes some excellent points, Jeff just keeps on kicking and slugging anyway, and only the surprise revelation of his mystery gift for Graeme redeems him.
2:31:51-end: Okay, no really, this time: closing comments! Next week will be a Q&A session so please feel free to tweet or email us your questions. Look for us on Stitcher! Itunes! Twitter together and separately: Graeme and Jeff! Matt! Tumblr, and on Patreon where a wonderful group of people make this all possible, including the kind crew at American Ninth Art Studios and Empress Audrey, Queen of the Galaxy, to whom we are especially grateful for their continuing support of this podcast.
Next week: Baxter Building! We are reading Fantastic Four issues #217-231! Join us, won’t you?
And, to cut and paste your way to nirvana merely:
http://theworkingdraft.com/media/WaitWhat213.mp3
ERF by Ennis did make it to print.
Nothing makes my day more than a Pynchon character showing up with a correction. Thank you! (And sorry for the delay in moderation.)
Funny, the only Artists Edition I own (and the only one I plan to own) is Kirby’s New Gods. With respect to extras on comics, I just don’t care. Process pages? Don’t care. Essays telling me why I’m reading what I’m reading? Don’t care. Original scripts? Don’t care. Interviews with creators? Maybe, but only if it’s not a puff piece and I can probably find the equivalent on-line anyway. Similarly, I’m a huge movie buff and, early on during the DVD revolution, used to watch tons of special features and even listen to commentaries. That changed quickly with the advent of Netflix and the oversaturation of the DVD market. Now, I might watch the deleted scenes on a movie I love, but that’s about all I have time or patience for.
One other thing. Just picked up the first several issues in the Mike Barr/Alan Davis Detective Comics run in the DC BOGO sale. Really enjoyed the Joker/Catwoman, Scarecrow and Mad Hatter stories, but I’m hesitant to get the Year Two storyline, especially since I understand Davis is only on part of that. Worth reading? Similarly, any other specific older Batman runs/storylines that you can recommend in the sale with a similar fun vibe and good art/writing (I already picked up what they had of the Englehart run, as well as Who Killed Batman?, the original Ra’s Al Ghul story, and Ten Nights of the Beast)?
You think re-reading FF is bad? Try re-reading the entire run of Heavy Metal. It’s passed the point of interesting a while ago.
And you are doing God’s work with that!
Betty Boop should just be B&W or grayscale right? I haven’t read it, but from what I’ve seen, the coloring makes an otherwise energetic and bouncy art style look hella drab. Also, art-wise, it takes 100% more finesse to adapt an old rubber hose cartoon than a new, stiff, flash/computer assisted cartoon.
DVD features are usually pretty forced. I think a lot of filmmakers are like, “dude, stop filming, I have my own movie to make right now”. Occasionally the commentary is good though, sometimes unintentionally– looking at you, John Carter.
Kelly Kanayama (@KellyKanayama on Twitter) has been commissioned to write a Garth Ennis book for Sequart.
On comics and anniversary editions: The only one I can recall off the top of my head was the Arkham Asylum 15th Anniversary Edition, which I loved because it included Morrison’s full script along with some modern commentary from him. As defensive as he was about reframing his work, I have to admit that edition made me look at Arkham differently and appreciate it a little more (if only as a textbook in how a comic can go wrong when the writer and artist aren’t in sync).
I guess that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for the concept of anniversary editions, but I found it a lot more compelling than the usual back matter filler.
The reason Steve Gerber relocated the then newly minted “Son of Satan” series to St. Louis was, most likely, because he had been born, raised and recently relocated from there. His previous job had been working as a writer at an advertising agency, which is where some of that newspaper office banter may have come from. After all, he certainly inserted more autobiographical stuff into his mainstream comics writing than his peers (by a country mile).
Betty Boop revivals are always terrible. There are about two dozen Boop cartoons worth watching and those are the earliest “pre-code” cartoons from 1932 through ’33 where she was a slightly naughty flapper in a surreal, dope and jazz infused reality. They were very hip for their time but very much OF their time. From 1934 through ’39, when the Boop series ended, she became less sexual, her skirt got longer, she spent her time helping people and the cartoons became terribly boring. Boop at her best in the early cartoons is cute and charming, squeals, runs around a lot, gets into and out of trouble, frequently gets into compromising situations and being ethnically Jewish (reading between the lines), is something of a rebel and outsider from mainstream (i.e. wasp) culture. The thought of another misguided (no matter the talent involved) revival of a vaguely, but well remembered character smacks of being a misguided, nostalgia fueled “money grab.” It’s just depressing especially in a medium she wasn’t created for. Leave poor Betty be and go watch her earliest and best cartoons that are still really really great (IMO!)!
(Ok, ok, you could say “what about the new FLINTSTONES book, huh?” That’s a complete reimagining of characters from dialog based cartoon to dialog based comic” The best Boops were never about dialog. they were about situations and constant motion.)
Thanks for another great show, guys! I’ll never read 95% (or more!) of the stuff you talk about – I love the talk!
Now that I think about it . . . BettyBoop’s pre-code cartoons are often about her being pursued by an oversized male character who wants to grope her against her wishes. I can see a new Boop cartoon in a contemporary setting (animated in the classic Fleicher style, ‘natch) where Betty is a contestant in a beauty pageant and is continually hounded by the pageant’s pervy owner. Betty triumphs in the end giving the scumbag his comeuppance and just deserts. The pageant’s owner: Donald J. Trump.
I’d buy THAT for a dollar.
Trump would make for a perfectly designed Fleischer villain, it’s true.
At this point I’m a bigger fan of Metal Gear Solid than any superhero, and I have to disagree vehemently about the Ashley Wood comics. Because A.) they’re beautiful to look at in that later Bill Sienkiewicz “my art has no hinges” way, B.) they got Wood the job as cutscene illustrator for the PSP Metal Gear games, and C.) Metal Gear is so intensely tied to its auteur Hideo Kojima that any original stories in the universe would absolutely fail to match his vision. Filler MGS stories or a MGS reboot in comic form would be like a Watchmen beat-’em-up video game without Alan Moore. Oh, wait….
On the other hand, I would like to see a Death Stranding comic as drawn by Alex Maleev, because his style is perfectly suited to cryptic trailers with dead whales and melting fetuses. (Not an insult)