Available from all your usual podcast providers, or listen here:
It's all well and good talking about comics, but they are obviously a
visual medium. Therefore, to accompany each episode, we'll also do a
little blog post with some images and other extras to give you some
context as to what on earth we're talking about!
The final part of Give Me Comics' Batman deep dive covering the modern day launches and relaunches of the caped crusader up to the now. Plus what Mike and Lee have read this week and another addition to the Comics or Death Museum.
What Have We Been Reading Recently?
Secret Wars from Marvel Comics Facsimile Edition, originally published in 1984 with the facsimile editions published digitally in 2024
Written by Jim Shooter with pencils by Mike Zeck
As mentioned by Lee these facsimile editions include the original adverts in the comic - a handful of which are below and definitely scream mid-80s!
A Righteous Thirst For Vengeance, published by Image Comics
Written by Rick Remender, with art by André Lima Araújo and colours by Chris O'Halloran
Batman: The Eras Tour
Batman #656 (2006)
Written by Grant Morrison, with pencils by Andy Kubert
Available from all your usual podcast providers, or listen here:
It's all well and good talking about comics, but they are obviously a
visual medium. Therefore, to accompany each episode, we'll also do a
little blog post with some images and other extras to give you some
context as to what on earth we're talking about!
The second of 3, in a 2 part series that went awry, exploring Batman's romp through the 70's and 80's, some of the most iconic imaginings of the world's greatest detective. Before heading dangerously into the spike-ridden 90's.
Plus what Mike and Lee have read this week and another addition to the Comics or Death Museum.
What Have We Been Reading Recently?
The Punisher (2018) #1-4 from Marvel Comics
Written by David Pepose with art by Dave Wachter
Scene of the Crime from Image Comics
Written by Ed Brubaker, pencils by Michael Lark and inks by Sean Phillips/Michael Lark
Batman: The Eras Tour
Batman #404 (1986)
Written by Frank Miller with art by David Mazzucchelli
The Dark Knight Returns #1 (1986)
Written by Frank Miller with art by Klaus Janson
Batman #500 (1993)
Written by Doug Moench, with pencils by Jim Aparo/Mike Manley and inks by Jim Aparo/Mike Manley
The Give Me Comics or Give Me Death podcast is available from all your usual podcast providers, or see all episodes here
Clearly writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips realised they'd found success - both artistically and commercially - with their modern noir series Criminal and whilst that recently relaunched series continues in its rich vein of form, the pair have also cleverly diverged into projects that put a twist on their formula; the Lovecraft influenced Fatale, super-heroes with Incognito (and the excellent Sleeper, which pre-dates Criminal), the Hollywood setting of The Fade Out, and the supernatural in Kill Or Be Killed. This time around the USP is a tale set in the Wild West, although in typical Brubaker/Phillips (Bruillips? Phillbaker?) fashion things aren't all that they initially seem to be.
Behind the gorgeous sepia-ish cowboy cover by Phillips lies a story set in New York City 1939, where lead character Max Winters is a down-on-his-luck comic book writer. Now, granted almost all of the characters in these Brubaker/Phillips stories are down-on-their-luck. but we're on a steady run of people associated with the comic book industry being the most down in the least luck of anyone - I'm pretty sure we've got the message now. Anyway, Max's comic is a cowboy title called Six Gun Western, and unbeknownst to all - his editor especially - the tales are autobiographical and based on Max's life as a wild west outlaw. When the escapades of Max's past take a less cowboy turn his editor starts to turn over the title to younger, cheaper, writers who will stick with the formula that made it popular to be begin with. Its a not so subtle nod at the real life developments of the industry on the eve of the second world war. Needless to say this development leads to cash concerns for Max, which as we know by now is Brubaker's starting point for a bad plan for a bad crime with bad people with a bad ending. As so it is.
One of the most arresting aspects of the story is the realisation that the time between that wild west of cowboys and outlaws, and what we now consider the modern day, was incredibly short. The lead character lives from a time when there was essentially a lawless hinterland of sparsely populated America, to the bustling mega city of New York and the industrialised and mechanised 20th century society. Its a transition that isn't really tackled by the comic - other than the obvious 'there's outlaws in any era' message - and in fact its more focused on the future with the Nazi occupation of Europe and the impending American involvement in the war. There is also a clear parallel with contemporary America as home grown fascist agitators feature heavily in the story - though I'm sure it would stir up a hornet's nest if I were to label Jeremiah Goldberg, Max's former enemy turned partner-in-crime, as Antifa.
We're not completely mis-sold on the promise of the cover however. Flashbacks to Max's outlaw past are presented as pages from his western comic. This gives Phillips an opportunity to stretch his artistic legs a little and present us with a homage to poorly printed weather worn pages of a 1930's comic, complete with a subtle but appreciated change of lettering and narrative boxes. The complementary colouring throughout the book is by Phillip's son, Jacob, who has just recently branched out on his own as artist for Image Comics' That Texas Blood. The Six Gun Western pages add something different and do make this feel like something more than just a Criminal story in disguise. My only complaint is we don't see enough of them - I could quite happily read a western book based on this if Brubaker and Phillips were so inclined.
Given this pair's output is always of the highest quality its no surprise that Pulp turns out to be a gripping and excellent read, where yet again they find a way to spruce up their usual noir approach with a slant that feels refreshing but also completely natural. M.
The Give Me Comics or Give Me Death podcast is available from all your usual podcast providers, or see all episodes here
Welcome to Art Attack, our series of blogs looking at some of our favourite comic art. Brief and to the point, we pick just one piece to shine a light on.
There's going to be a few Art Attacks looking atthe art of Joe Quesadal; he's one of my favourite comic artists and one of only two creators I've tried to collect as much of their work as I can (the other being Chris Ware - talk about opposites!). Unfortunately for me, that became increasingly difficult for Quesada after he became Editor-In-Chief of Marvel in 2000 - his art became mostly limited to variant covers that were often rare and expensive. Nonetheless, my mission continues as I keep my eyes peeled on eBay and comic shop back issue bins for affordable Joe work wherever I can!
The piece I'm looking at today is the cover of The Batman Gallery from DC Comics, published in 1992. Joe had got a lot of attention for his work at Valiant Comics on titles such as X-O Manowar and Ninjak, and was soon snapped up by DC Comics. He had done The Ray mini-series for DC but had moved onto a big hitter in Batman: Sword of Azrael. He did several Batman related covers, and this has also been the focus of his work since his return to DC in 2023.
This is a really interesting composition for Joe, utilising the double page cover to show an array of Batman villains (left to right; Catwoman, The Joker, Two-Face, The Penguin), and the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin. There's a very unusual perspective used, with the vanishing point being the top right-hand corner. The viewer is therefore positioned below both the villains and the heroes, and quite cleverly can see the incoming trouble that the bad guys are unaware of. The perspective also draws the eye both from left to right, and bottom to top.
The art also sums up Joe's style at the time, with a heavy use of black - usually by the way of shadows. As you can see from the inked piece below, the majority of the piece is solid blacks (bar the large space left for the title lettering). The inker was Kevin Nolan, who also worked with Joe on the Sword of Azrael series, and gave him the darkest and heaviest art of his career. Its a shame they didn't get to work together more often, as I think they're a hell of a match.
You can also see in this piece a few classic Joe trademarks; the all black face of in Batman with just the eyes and mouth for detail, the detailed use of architecture as a background, and of course, a cat!
The interior of the comic itself is reproductions of 'classic' Batman covers - mainly without the title and other cover paraphilia. It is an odd selection, because apart from a handful of honourable exceptions, it really doesn't showcase the history of wonderful Batman art.
Available from all your usual podcast providers, or listen here:
It's all well and good talking about comics, but they are obviously a
visual medium. Therefore, to accompany each episode we'll also do a
little blog post with some images and other extras to give you some
context as to what on earth we're talking about!
The first of 3, in a 2 part series that went awry, exploring Batman's origins and ups and downs from the 1930's to the current day.
Plus what Mike and Lee have read this week and another addition to the Comics or Death Museum.
What Have We Been Reading Lately
The Outsiders, published by DC Comics, written by Colin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, with art by Robet Carey
The Enfield Gang Massacre, published by Image Comics, written by Chris Condon and art by Jacob Phillips with colour assists by Pip Martin.
Batman Through the Ages
Detective Comics #27, published 1939, written by Bill Finger with pencils by Bob Kane. The First appearance of Batman.
Batman #1, published in 1940, written by Bill Finger with art by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, featuring the first appearances of The Joker and Catwoman.
Available from all your usual podcast providers, or listen here:
It's all well and good talking about comics, but they are obviously a
visual medium. Therefore, to accompany each episode we'll also do a
little blog post with some images and other extras to give you some
context as to what on earth we're talking about!
After an exploration into the birth of the Marvel Comics universe, Mike
and Lee look to another brand-new universe - Image Comics' Ghost Machine
imprint. Plus what they've read this week and another addition to the
Comics or Death Museum.
Lee has been reading the conclusion of the X-Men Krakoan Age era of books. Here's a handful of the comics that wound up that long-running storyline:
Fall of the House of X #1 and 4 - written by Gerry Duggan, with pencils by Jethro Morales and Lucas Werneck (though the covers below are by Pepe Larraz)
And Rise of the Powers of X #1 and 5 - written by Kieron Gillen, with
pencils by Luciano Vecchio (though the covers are by R.B. Silva)
[Please stop having covers by artists who don't do the interior art
guys!]
Meanwhile, Mike has been reading Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, by [deep breath] writers Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz, and artists Esau Escorza, Isaac Escorza, Ben Bishop, Kevin Eastman.
As well as Friday, written by Ed Brubaker and art by Marcos Martin. Mike read it in print from Image Comics, but it started life as a digital comic (and still is) available from Panel Syndicate here
Ghost Machine
This episode we talk about the new creator owned shared universe from Image Comics - Ghost Machine.
The whole thing is launched by Ghost Machine #1, which is an anthology previewing some of the Ghost Machine characters and comics:
Then there are the individual titles themselves:
Geiger written by Geoff Johns and art by Gary Frank
Redcoat written by Geoff Johns with art by Bryan Hitch
Rook by Geoff Johns and art by Jason Fabok
When we recorded this episode we discussed future titles from the imprint, and some of these have now launched:
The Rocketfellas by Francis Manapul
Hornsbury & Halo by written by Peter J Tomasi, art by John Kalisz and Peter Snejbjerg
Hyde Street written by Geoff Johns [how many comics is this huy writing!?] and art by Ivan Reis, Brad Anderson, and Danny Miki
If we piqued your interest in Ghost Machine then you can find out more in this IGN interview with Geoff Johns where he explains the idea behind the imprint and how it came about.
