Episode 15 - Super Special Edition Halloween Extravaganza, Now With 100% More "Thriller" Even

Comics Therapy. No Reviews. Just Analysis.

Happy Halloween, everyone.

Two books from October 30, 2013. Plus Nerd Confessions, Aaron's Inner Child and a special edition of Grief Counseling. You know, for kids.
And on The Couch this week: writer Christopher Sebela.

Show Notes:
The theme of the show is...well, sorta scary Halloweeny stuff, sorta Aaron getting to talk about Infinity again. But Andrea read more of The Walking Dead, so that's sorta thematic, right? And definitely both of your sorta dedicated hosts had been drinking before the show, so it's super festive up in these parts. Sorta.

Five Ghosts #6 15:00
Fabian Gray is a bit like Indiana Jones meets Doctor Strange, with a haunting for every different type of literary nerd out there.

Infinity #5 23:17
Why is this event so damn great? If you have a spare five hours, Aaron will gladly tell you.
You're welcome.

Grief Counseling - The Walking Dead Vol. 9 #49-54 33:10
Before you go attacking Aaron, this was Andrea's idea. It's fiiiiiine. She had a month off, and this volume wasn't as traumatic as the previous one. There's no crying, just yelling at Aaron as per usual.

The Couch - Christopher Sebela 44:17
Chris writes High Crimes, published by MonkeyBrain Comics (and which we talked about back in Episode 2), and the upcoming Alien Vs Predator from Dark Horse Comics. He’s the co-writer of Ghost, also from Dark Horse, and has co-written Captain Marvel and Fantastic Four from Marvel. His first book, Screamland, was published by Image Comics and he’s also a contributor to Rachel Deering’s upcoming In the Dark anthology published by IDW. He's got solid horror cred.

During the interview, Chris recommended the following comics:
Sheltered
Theramin
Pretty Deadly
Sex Criminals
Shade The Changing Man
Strikeforce: Morturi

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Episode 14 - Hot Town, Summer In The City

Comics Therapy. No Reviews, Just Analysis.

Two comics from October 23, 2013. Plus your Nerd Confessions and Aaron's Inner Child.

On The Couch this week: writer and artist Terry Moore. (Squeeee.)

Show Notes:

Theme of the show is life in the big city. 

The rat race pace of the urban sprawl got you down? Perhaps you should try something more ...unconventional to belay your boredom. Like dressing up in costume. Or sex. Or both together if you’re into that.

Daredevil #32 14:!2

The Man Without Fear leaves the comfort of the riot-torn big city for the unknown wilds of backwoods Kentucky. That's enough to scare anyone.

Sex Criminals #2 26:35
This is a lovely new comic that you should be reading...or, alternatively you can listen to Aaron and Andrea discuss their sexual awakenings. No, not together. Gross.

(Editor's note: The io9 article Andrea referenced on synesthesia, "What Color Is An Orgasm?" can be found here.)

The Couch - Terry Moore 39:43
In addition to stints on several notable titles at Marvel and DC, Terry is known for his three self-published series Strangers In Paradise, Echo and the currently running Rachel Rising. (We talked about Rachel Rising and gender roles back in Episode 8, by the way.) This special extended interview was recorded October 20, 2013.

During the interview, Terry mentioned a few comics and creators:

Sanctuary (drawn by Ikegami)

Osamu Tezuka

Jack Kirby

Matt Baker

Blacksad

Thanks, Terry. And thanks, listeners. You're really upping the bar with the nerd stories/confessions, so keep it up. Contact information is to your right as usual, and drop us a line if there is a particular creator you're interested in hearing on the show. We'll be back next week with a special surprise...

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Episode 13 - Just A Man And His Will To Survive

Comics Therapy. No Reviews, Just Analysis.

Three comics from October 16, 2013. Plus your Nerd Confessions and Aaron's Inner Child. On The Couch this week: writer and artist Brandon Graham.

Show Notes:
Theme of the show is survival of the fittest. The choices you make when you're in the trenches are the only ones that matter. Do you have what it takes? Gah. No pressure.

Liberator #4 9:30
Animal abusers, beware. After a lengthy discussion about their past punk lives and poultry pasturing, your co-hosts admit that they'd rather read about extreme activism than live it.

Nowhere Men #7 25:50
If you're not loving this book, Andrea doesn't want to be friends with you. Hear that, Meyers?

Amelia Cole #11 Hidden War Part 5 36:53
Impulsivity as the key to heroic behavior. Also, #TeamLemmy

The Couch - Brandon Graham 45:25
Artist and writer Brandon Graham’s work includes his critically acclaimed, Eisner-winner King City, the relaunched Prophet series from Image Comics, and Multiple Warheads, the first of which was recently reprinted by Oni Press. As if that's not enough, Walrus, his first art book, is available through PictureBox.

During the course of his interview, Brandon schooled Aaron and Andrea on all manner of manga and manga-type influences. He also mentioned some comic greats that everyone should be aware of. We tried to capture them all here for your reference:

Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma 1/2)
Fred Perry (Gold Digger)
Adam Warren (Empowered)
Hayao Miyazaki
Shonen Jump
Bryan O'Malley
Poison Elves
Art Spiegelman
E.K. Weaver (TJ and Amal)
Carla Speed McNeil (Finder)
Michael DeForge
Paul Pope
Cardcaptor Sakura
Battlestar Galactica
Richard Moore (Boneyard)
Jeanette Winterson (Art Objects)
Sheltered
Appleseed
Gene Luen Yang (Boxers & Saints)
James Stokoe
Metabarons
Milo Manara
Kim Thompson

That's it for Comics Therapy this week, kids. Keep sending those fantastic nerd stories/confessions and hit us up via the sidebar with questions or comments. And we're having a blast with The Couch, so if there's a specific creator you're interested in hearing from, drop us a line. We have more amazing folks lined up over the coming weeks! Stay tuned.


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Episode 12 - Miracles

Comics Therapy. No Reviews, Just Analysis.

Three comics from October 9, 2013. Plus your Nerd Confessions and Aaron's Inner Child. And this week, we also welcome our first guest to The Couch: writer Kelly Sue DeConnick.

Show Notes:
Theme of the show is hubris, by way of science, by way of man’s constant struggle to catalogue and control the natural power around us, and within ourselves. It hardly ever goes as planned.

America's Got Powers #7 12:20
This is the (un)true story...of (countless) strangers...picked to live in a house (on Alcatraz Island)...work together (trying to kill each other) and have their lives (and deaths) taped...to find out what happens... when people stop being polite (or normal)...and start getting real (powers).

FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics #4 23:00
Comic book science done right. Now featuring actual science!

Paul Pope's Battling Boy 32:35
An almost-perfect all-ages book that combines familiar mythology with recognizable pulpy science tropes in an appealing and approachable way. Our first conversation about a graphic novel, because Aaron was so excited he just had to talk about this book immediately. Turns out he was right.

(And the bookstore Andrea mentions? Off The Beaten Path in Steamboat Springs, CO. They're good people with great taste in books. And family.)

We read on The Internet that the final stage of the grieving process is acceptance and hope, so for now we say goodbye to Grief Counseling and The Walking Dead and look ahead to our exciting new segment featuring candid interviews with creators we respect whose work we admire.

The Couch: Kelly Sue DeConnick 41:15

Up first, the venerable powerhouse that is Kelly Sue DeConnick, writer of Captain Marvel from Marvel Comics, Ghost from Dark Horse Comics and her highly anticipated new creator-owned series Pretty Deadly from Image Comics.

Thanks for listening. Everything you could possibly want to know about us or the show is to your right. And keep those nerdy confessions and stories coming, kids. Cheers.

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Episode 11 - Outsiders

No Reviews. Just Analysis.

Three comics from October 2, 2013, plus your Nerd Confessions, Aaron's Inner Child and the last segment of Grief Counseling (for now).

Show Notes:
Theme of the show is outsiders. Period.

Todd The Ugliest Kid In The World #6 15:20
There's probably some societal commentary going on when the boy with the bag on his head is the most beautiful thing in the book, right?

Iron Man #16 23:08
Arguably the most iconic Marvel character at this point (sorry, Peter), Tony Stark is once again having an identity crisis. Somebody get the poor guy a drink. Oh. Awkward.

Mara #6 37:53
Transcending humanity is the ultimate disconnect from everything she once knew. A fulfilling conclusion to Mara's search for her new sense of self.

Grief Counseling - The Walking Dead, Vol. 8 #43-48 45:35
This one should come with a warning label.

Each week for the the past eight weeks, Andrea has been reading a volume of The Walking Dead. If you read it, you probably remember what happens in #48. You probably also understand why she's probably definitely taking a break from continuing with this game. She'll take Tony's drink, though. Make it a double.

Thanks for listening, and thank you THANK YOU to Edward for the extraordinary new audio equipment. We're one step closer to world domination thanks to your generosity, sir.

As always, contact and subscription information is in the sidebar. And don't forget to share a sweet, silly or sophomoric nerd confession with us to play on the show. Don't be an outsider, everybody is doing it.

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