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Deconstructing Comics
Tim
100 episodes
6 days ago
Deconstructing Comics is a podcast about the craft of comics. Tim, Kumar, Emmet, and guest reviewers discuss a variety of comics (both recent work and classics) and present interviews with a variety of comics creators -- mainstream, indy, and even international! And in our occasional "Critiquing Comics" episodes, We'll even critique YOUR comic!

Whether you’ve got a comic going and you’re trying to promote it, or you haven’t even started yet and need some help getting rolling, we hope you’ll come here for inspiration and tips. And there’s plenty of interest for the casual comic book or graphic novel fan, as well!

"Tim is probably the hardest working podcaster in the community. He's an insightful and articulate comic reviewer and somebody I always enjoy talking to." -- Jason McNamara, writer, "The Rattler"

“Some of the best interviews I’ve ever heard! You guys review the type of comics I love and that’s really hard to find. So thanks for unique and knowledgeable.” -- Jack Wallace, Disposable Fiction Comics

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All content for Deconstructing Comics is the property of Tim and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Deconstructing Comics is a podcast about the craft of comics. Tim, Kumar, Emmet, and guest reviewers discuss a variety of comics (both recent work and classics) and present interviews with a variety of comics creators -- mainstream, indy, and even international! And in our occasional "Critiquing Comics" episodes, We'll even critique YOUR comic!

Whether you’ve got a comic going and you’re trying to promote it, or you haven’t even started yet and need some help getting rolling, we hope you’ll come here for inspiration and tips. And there’s plenty of interest for the casual comic book or graphic novel fan, as well!

"Tim is probably the hardest working podcaster in the community. He's an insightful and articulate comic reviewer and somebody I always enjoy talking to." -- Jason McNamara, writer, "The Rattler"

“Some of the best interviews I’ve ever heard! You guys review the type of comics I love and that’s really hard to find. So thanks for unique and knowledgeable.” -- Jack Wallace, Disposable Fiction Comics

Show more...
Visual Arts
Arts,
Books,
Leisure,
Hobbies
Episodes (20/100)
Deconstructing Comics
#861 Jack Kirby’s Captain America: Cap vs Magneto!

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:

* Waxy Buildup podcast
* Our supporters on Patreon

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6 days ago
1 hour 21 minutes 43 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#372 “Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary”: Painful Personal Memoir as Wacky Comedy!

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. (Originally published September 24, 2013.)
Brought to you by:

* Our supporters on Patreon

 
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1 week ago
53 minutes 54 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#860 Chris Ryall on “Daredevil: Born Again”

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:



* Daredevil: Born Again; An Exploration
* Chris on Substack



Koom:



* Killing Shakespeare
* Koom interviewed on TV about the book



Brought to you by:



* Full Manga Alchemists
* Our supporters on Patreon



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2 weeks ago
1 hour 3 minutes 59 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#859 Jason Shiga: Choosing his own path

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:

* Shigabooks.com
* Demon vol. 1

Koom:

* Killing Shakespeare
* Koom interviewed on TV about the book

Brought to you by:

* Face the Music ELO podcast
* Our supporters on Patreon

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3 weeks ago
1 hour 25 minutes 17 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#858 Celebrating 20 years by reviewing a 20-year-old film (“Superman Returns”)

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 the teaser trailer for Superman Returns; this time, Tim, Kumar, and Emmet review the film!
Episodes mentioned:

* Episode 1: “Superman Returns” “Revelations” “Hellboy” (republished in 2010)
* Episode 116: “Death by Chocolate: Redux” (Kumar’s first appearance)
* Episode 134: “The R. Crumb Handbook”
* Episode 425: Aquaman: Why he’s not lame (Emmet’s first appearance)
* Episode 494: “Batman vs. Superman”

Brought to you by:



* Checkered Past podcast
* Our supporters on Patreon



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1 month ago
1 hour 10 minutes 26 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#857 Carol Tyler’s “The Ephemerata”: Making sense of the worst of all possible stretches

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:



* Worst Collection Ever podcast
* Our supporters on Patreon



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1 month ago
54 minutes 13 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#856 Jim Keefe interview

Jim Keefe 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 various manga, 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.

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!
Brought to you by:

* Who’s Who podcast
* Our supporters on Patreon

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1 month ago
1 hour 46 minutes 29 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#855 Jack Kirby’s “Captain America” 214 & Annual 3: Cap vs the Space Vampire!

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:

* Full Manga Alchemists
* Our supporters on Patreon

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1 month ago
1 hour 11 minutes 45 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#410 Marvel Comics: Telling the Untold Story

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 Sean Howe researched for his 2012 book Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. 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 found that the book helped some of those involved to move on from decades-old wounds.
This week Tim talks to Sean Howe about the research, the reaction, and what this book has to say to aspiring creators. (Originally published July 7, 2014.)
Brought to you by:

* The Quick and the Dad
* Our supporters on Patreon

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2 months ago
1 hour 29 minutes 32 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
Critiquing Comics #246: “Roy Beckwith and the Cursed Continent” and “A French Expat in the U.K.”

Roy Beckwith and the Cursed Continent is a western series by Nick Patch, Jarret Katz, and Fabi Marques. It looks great but it runs at a breakneck pace and seems to be introducing a few too many elements. Tim and Jason discuss.
A French Expat in the U.K., by Agathe Montagnon, was sold through the LDC Online Comics Fair last summer. It’s a quick and evenhanded look at some of the differences between the British and French cultures, as experienced by the author herself. American expats in Japan Tim and Adam take a look.
Brought to you by:

* Checkered Past podcast
* Our supporters on Patreon

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2 months ago
53 minutes 6 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#854 “Superman” (2025): Its commentary on other supermen

Last summer’s Superman movie was a welcome improvement over many recent films featuring the character, and over much of the recent superhero film entries in general. Kumar and Emmet this week discuss how it comments on Zach Snyder’s take, on internet culture, anti-immigrant sentiment, and more. They also address such topics as how the film distinguishes between Superman and Clark Kent, Superman’s surprising vulnerability, and the Hall of Justice mural.
Brought to you by:

* Our supporters on Patreon

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2 months ago
1 hour 4 minutes 48 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#853 The strange history of “Robotech”

What if your first Star Wars movie were Return of the Jedi? You’d have questions! That’s how Tim felt once he got started reading Robotech II: The Sentinels volume 1, a comics continuation of the animated Robotech show that hit the U.S. in 1985. Robotech was a combination of three different anime — why?? And why is it that, after all these years, the Robotech story doesn’t really progress? Tim discusses with longtime Robotech fan Erik Amaya of Comicon.com.
Brought to you by:

* Worst Collection Ever podcast
* Our supporters on Patreon

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2 months ago
1 hour 4 minutes 16 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#369 “Krazy Kat”: Show me the bricks

One of the most highly-regarded English-language strips of all time is George Herriman’s Krazy Kat, featuring the odd love/hate triangle of Krazy, Ignatz, and Officer Pupp. Why was Krazy so gender-ambiguous? How did Herriman’s (somewhat mysterious) racial background influence the strip? Tim and Kumar discuss this and much more. (Originally published September 2, 2013.)
Brought to you by:



* Who’s Who podcast
* Our supporters on Patreon



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3 months ago
1 hour 8 minutes 10 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#852 Dan Schkade and “Flash Gordon”

In 2023, King Features Syndicate decided to bring Flash Gordon, originally created by Alex Raymond and first published in 1934, back from rerun purgatory with new strips, written and drawn by Dan Schkade. Dan was also the artist on Dynamite Entertainment’s Will Eisner’s the Spirit Returns in 2016, and is also known for his original work Lavender Jack, which ran on Webtoon. This week, Tim talks with him about Flash Gordon and some of the trickier aspects of doing a newspaper strip, including refreshing readers’ memories and getting new readers on board while also moving the story forward a step every day. And, in 2025, how do you handle a great villain (Ming the Merciless) who’s also a terrible racial stereotype?
Brought to you by:



* Full Manga Alchemists
* Our supporters on Patreon



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3 months ago
1 hour 3 minutes 54 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#358 Carl Barks, “The Good Duck Artist”

From 1942 to 1966, many of the Donald Duck comic books published by Dell Comics were written and drawn by Carl Barks. Like most comic book creators at the time, his name was unknown; the Duck comics were all credited to Walt Disney. Fans only knew that his work was by the GOOD duck artist. Barks created Scrooge McDuck and many of the other duck characters that are taken for granted as part of Disney canon today.
What made Barks the standout Duck artist? Were they meant to be satirical, or simply enjoyable stories? Tim, Kumar, and Tom Spurgeon discuss Barks’ work, particularly the Fantagraphics volume Lost in the Andes. (Originally published June 3, 2013.)
Comics Journal review of Lost in the Andes
Brought to you by:

* Our supporters on Patreon

 
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3 months ago
1 hour 3 minutes 20 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#851 Jack Kirby’s “Cap and Falcon” 212-213: “I love you, baby!”

Captain America and the Falcon #212 concludes the Arnim Zola/Red Skull storyline in somewhat perfunctory fashion, and gives a living castle with big teeth much less P.R. than it deserved! In #213 we meet the strange and underutilized assassin the Night Flyer! (Underwhelming name? Must’ve been named by Jack Kirby!) Tim and Emmet discuss both issues in this episode.
Brought to you by:

* The Quick and the Dad
* Our supporters on Patreon

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3 months ago
1 hour 1 minute 40 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
Critiquing Comics #245: “Joe Mallard” 4-6 and “Dream Machine”

Joe Mallard, a favorite of Tim and Jason’s from a year ago, is back! Creator Asante Amani has sent us issues 4-6 of this crime series. Did it go over with us as well as the first two issues did?
Ky Lawrence has created a trippy graphic novel about survivor’s guilt. In Dream Machine, our protagonist dreams he can sacrifice himself to bring his cancer victim twin back to life. Tim and Adam critique.
Brought to you by:

* Our supporters on Patreon

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3 months ago
43 minutes 27 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#850 “Fantastic Four: First Steps” (2025): Did it live up to the hype?

We’ve been building up to it for months with our reviews of previous Fantastic Four movies. Now it’s here, the FF’s debut in the MCU, Fantastic Four: First Steps. How well did it scratch that FF itch? Kumar and Jordan once again join Tim to review the film, and discuss how it stacks up against the others (including the unreleased 1994 version).
One idea about what “Subzero Intel” might mean
Brought to you by:



* Full Manga Alchemists
* Our supporters on Patreon



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4 months ago
1 hour 21 minutes 19 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#849 “Almost Sunset”: Wahab Algarmi on growing up Muslim in America

This week, Koom interviews Wahab Algarmi, author of Almost Sunset, a graphic novel about a Muslim American boy’s search for balance between his family traditions and the demands of life in Middle School. Koom and Wahab discuss their international family backgrounds as well as the merits or demerits of 1990s Image comics!
Almost Sunset on Amazon
Brought to you by:

* The Quick and the Dad
* Our supporters on Patreon

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4 months ago
1 hour 14 minutes 14 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
#848 “More Weight”: Ben Wickey talks Salem witch trials

Ben Wickey has created a graphic novel, More Weight: A Salem Story, that gives us a very deep dive into the Salem witch trials: why they happened, who was to blame, and how the city has dealt with their legacy. This week Koom gets the scoop on what inspired Ben, why his art style seems to vary depending on what point in the past he’s writing about, and more.
More Weight: A Salem Story on Amazon.com
Brought to you by:



* Checkered Past podcast
* Our supporters on Patreon



Show more...
4 months ago
1 hour 27 minutes 35 seconds

Deconstructing Comics
Deconstructing Comics is a podcast about the craft of comics. Tim, Kumar, Emmet, and guest reviewers discuss a variety of comics (both recent work and classics) and present interviews with a variety of comics creators -- mainstream, indy, and even international! And in our occasional "Critiquing Comics" episodes, We'll even critique YOUR comic!

Whether you’ve got a comic going and you’re trying to promote it, or you haven’t even started yet and need some help getting rolling, we hope you’ll come here for inspiration and tips. And there’s plenty of interest for the casual comic book or graphic novel fan, as well!

"Tim is probably the hardest working podcaster in the community. He's an insightful and articulate comic reviewer and somebody I always enjoy talking to." -- Jason McNamara, writer, "The Rattler"

“Some of the best interviews I’ve ever heard! You guys review the type of comics I love and that’s really hard to find. So thanks for unique and knowledgeable.” -- Jack Wallace, Disposable Fiction Comics