Critiquing Comics #237: "Detective Perez: Autotropolis" and "Griz Grobus"
Release Date: 06/19/2024
#862 "Poor Helpless Comics"
Deconstructing Comics
Ed Subitzky did a lot of cartooning for National Lampoon back in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Much of his work revolves around comics done under certain conditions or showing a certain situation ("Fortune-Telling Comics" "Dull Comics" "Poor Reception Comics"). Neither Kumar nor Tim were familiar with his work until picking up the collection Poor Helpless Comics! The cartoons (and more) of Ed Subitzky, but now that they've read it, this episode features their thoughts. Brought to you by:
info_outline
#861 Jack Kirby's Captain America: Cap vs Magneto!
Deconstructing Comics
While it seems a bit odd to see Captain America fighting Magneto, they do have something in common: Jack Kirby had a hand in creating both! The battle takes place in Captain America Annual #4, from 1977; the story is titled "The Great Mutant Massacre" -- but no, not that one. It's an X-men - adjacent story with some very Kirbyesque bizarre concepts. Tim and Emmet discuss, and also look back at the experience of reading all this 1970s Jack Kirby-penned Cap. Brought to you by:
info_outline
#372 “Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary”: Painful Personal Memoir as Wacky Comedy!
Deconstructing Comics
FLASHBACK! Autobiographical comics are par for the course, but in 1972, Justin Green broke ground for the genre when he published Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary. Some of that broken ground hasn’t been trod since; how many autobiographical comics about a battle with mental illness have you seen done as wacky parody comics? Lightning-quick pace, phalluses everywhere, and a helpful instructional arrow pointed at a bunch of bananas? It’s unlike any autobio comic before or since, and your take on the subject matter may greatly depend on your upbringing. Tim and Kumar examine....
info_outline
#860 Chris Ryall on "Daredevil: Born Again"
Deconstructing Comics
Daredevil: Born Again, by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, is one of those comics stories that continues to attract attention decades after it was published. Chris Ryall, co-founder and current publisher at Image imprint Syzygy Publishing, is the author of a new book on that story. He talks with Koom in this episode about the arc's religious symbolism, Ben Urich as the story's magic ingredient, and more. Mazzucchelli art for Marvel Fanfare #40 (Oct 1988) cover, as seen on Koom's wall Coppola loan application Chris: Koom: Brought to you by:
info_outline
#859 Jason Shiga: Choosing his own path
Deconstructing Comics
Jason Shiga is creator of the four-volume series Demon as well as many interactive comics. This week, Koom interviews Jason about his page layout strategy, his connections to Adrian Tomine, the pros and cons of comics where the reader gets a choice of paths through the story, his intriguing new project, and more. Jason: Koom: Brought to you by:
info_outline
#858 Celebrating 20 years by reviewing a 20-year-old film ("Superman Returns")
Deconstructing Comics
Our first episode was released on December 5, 2005. After 20 years of changes in focus, format, and personnel, as well as Tim self-teaching audio editing, this time we look back at some of what's changed. Also: In our first episode, Tim, Brandon, and Mulele discussed ; this time, Tim, Kumar, and Emmet review the film! Episodes mentioned: Brought to you by:
info_outline
#857 Carol Tyler's "The Ephemerata": Making sense of the worst of all possible stretches
Deconstructing Comics
Longtime comics creator Carol Tyler went through a horrific stretch in her life where she lost numerous loved ones, from her parents, to a neighbor, to her dog, in just a six-year stretch. Many other things of varying levels of horribleness happened within that time, too. Her response is not so much to tell us what she's learned from the experience as to simply try to learn something from it by making a graphic novel about it, which she called The Ephemerata. This week, Tim is joined by Juan Mah y Busch to review. Brought to you by:
info_outline
#856 Jim Keefe interview
Deconstructing Comics
The November 16, 2025, Sally Forth strip, with Jim's color guides at the top. Note the appearance of Gregory and Janine from Abbot Elementary in the first panel! is a longtime comics creator who has worked on the Flash Gordon (art and story) and Sally Forth (art) newspaper strips as well as being King Features' staff colorist. He has also done lettering and retouching for English editions of , and more. This week he talks with Tim about all of this, as well as his time as a student at the Kubert School, dealing with technological change, and more. Brought to you by:
info_outline
#855 Jack Kirby's "Captain America" 214 & Annual 3: Cap vs the Space Vampire!
Deconstructing Comics
Jack Kirby wraps up his run on Captain America and the Falcon with issue 214, the rather underwhelming conclusion of the Night Flyer story. But wait! Kirby also did a couple of annuals, so we dig into annual #3 from 1976. Yeaahhhh, that's the stuff! If you haven't been getting enough PULSE-POUNDING ACTION in your comics, this is the issue for you! Brought to you by:
info_outline
#410 Marvel Comics: Telling the Untold Story
Deconstructing Comics
FLASHBACK! If you’re into American comics at all, you undoubtedly know how Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and others changed the industry with their work in the 1960s, and set the template for kinds of stories Marvel still publishes today. That’s just part of the story that researched for his 2012 book . Through interviews, research of media reports, and of course tons of comics reading, Howe uncovered the backgrounds of many comics stories and rumors that longtime readers may have wondered about. There’s plenty of intra-creator acrimony to be found in its pages, yet Howe...
info_outline
Paul Pate releases his third "Detective Perez" graphic novel, called Autotropolis, a turned-to-eleven detective story that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Tim and Jason find a lot to like and not too terribly much to advise on -- though of course almost any work can still be improved! Right?
Griz Grobus, the latest from Simon Roy, is about a robot advocate for eating your veggies on a planet where humans have settled just in the past few hundred years. It's also about how the spirit of a war god ends up in the body of... well, that would be telling. Tim and Adam discuss whether, in this case, maybe a work can't possibly be improved!
Brought to you by: