100 episodes

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

Deconstructing Comics Tim

    • Arts
    • 3.8 • 4 Ratings

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

    "Batman and the Outsiders" vol. 2 review

    "Batman and the Outsiders" vol. 2 review

    Batman and the Outsiders was one of DC’s top sellers in the 1980s. This time, Tim is joined by John Trumbull to take a close look at the second volume of the series, which includes the reveal of Halo’s origin, exploration of Metamorpho’s, the 1984 L.A. Olympics, time travel, and more. Don’t forget the Mike W. Barr wordplay and great Jim Aparo art!

    Tim and John discussed the first volume of the series here.

    John writes for Back Issue magazine (and is an admin on their Facebook group) and co-hosts the SNL Nerds podcast.

    Brought to you by:



    * To the Batpoles! podcast

    * Our supporters on Patreon

    • 1 hr 18 min
    "Berserk" v. 9 & 10 deep dive: Genre hopping

    "Berserk" v. 9 & 10 deep dive: Genre hopping

    Kentaro Miura’s Berserk can be confounding. Reading volumes 9 and 10 prompts us to ask “Just what genre IS this comic, anyway?” While it still has plenty of over-the-top action and violence, it also has gratuitous sex, comedy, and even some horror elements. And now we finally have hints toward why the “present” of volumes 1-3 had so many magical elements that have been mostly missing from the ongoing flashback. Tim and Kumar ask “Could it be the magic at last?”

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    Brought to you by:



    * Checkered Past podcast

    Our supporters on Patreon

    • 1 hr 13 min
    "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018)

    "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018)

    After the gravitas of Avengers: Infinity War, which ended in a blaze of glory only for the villain, what did we want next? A fun, lighthearted romp of a movie. Right? No? Well, that’s what we got and this movie is certainly fun. But it doesn’t resolve a single thread from Infinity War. Mulele struggles to avoid spoilers for Tim as we review Ant-Man and the Wasp! (Originally published on Patreon February 1, 2020)

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    Brought to you by:



    * The Law of Equivalent Exchange: A Fullmetal Alchemist manga podcast

    * Our supporters on Patreon

    • 41 min
    "Dragon Ball" in depth

    "Dragon Ball" in depth

    FLASHBACK! Though the highly influential manga series, and resulting TV show, are known for non-stop action and fighting, Dragon Ball started out as a comedy strip reminiscent of Akira Toriyama‘s early work, Dr. Slump! Viz’s English versions have gone through various levels of censorship over time to adjust to the low level of sexuality that most Americans expect of kids’ books. Except, most of the characters themselves don’t understand sexuality, and that’s the charm of it; it’s best enjoyed (probably by kids as well) in its pristine form…if you can find it!

    In memory of Akira Toriyama, we re-present our review of the original Dragon Ball series. Tim, Kumar, and Mulele review. (Originally published August 16, 2010.)

    Visual censorship comparisons after the jump (NSFW but probably safe for Japanese kids):



    For this episode I read two different versions of DragonBall — the original floppies in CBR format and the slightly-larger-than-usual “White Book” edition.

    I had initially read online that the White editions were the most uncensored version, so I bought Volume 1. After further reading, I discovered that this was actually the complete opposite: the White Books are the most censored version of Dragon Ball up until Volume 3. Starting with Volume 4, they started putting a “Ages 13 and Up” label on the front, and this series then becomes the mosst UNcensored version available. My understanding is that editions AFTER the White Book series returned to being censored again to various degrees, with almost no two editions the same. Note the DRAGON BALL Z cross-promotion on the cover of the White edition — as we discuss in the episode, I suspect fear of the mass TV audience is what all the edits in this edition.

    Here is a sampling. (It’s been several years since I read them in Japanese, so I can’t speak to changes in the floppy editions from the Japanese originals.) I apologize in advance for the sloppiness of my scans.

    A dialog change:



    Another dialog change here. Is the word “shorts” really that suggestive?! Isn’t the word “studly” by connotation even more suggestive?



    Nudity change:



    Also, in the White edition, Goku’s privates are covered up by the towel in this scene:



    Another nudity edit here. This time, Bulma’s breasts are covered with reflection in the glass. I believe I have also seen another version where she is instead covered by suds.



    Also, how does Bulma’s pose make any sense in this edit? (Notice the art touch-up as well.)



    All of Goku’s “pat-pats” to check for male genitals have been re-drawn and are referred to as “staring”:



    Two key (and hilarious) panels completely removed:



    The VERY racy “bra size” gag (the edit makes Oolong’s puff-puff gesture nonsensical):



    Finally, a non-sexual penis reference. I find this one problematic because it avoids the hilarity of Goku still not understanding that women do not have penises:



    What I find slightly odd about all this is that Toriyama refused to allow his work to be flipped (left-to-right reading) for Western audiences, resulting in the unprecedented first non-flipped manga in North America. And yet, he seemed to have no issues with them editing the artwork for other purposes.

    Kumar

    • 42 min
    Priest’s “Black Panther”

    Priest’s “Black Panther”

    FLASHBACK! In 1998, under the “Marvel Knights” banner, Christopher Priest began the first ongoing Black Panther title in nearly two decades. Panther was a relatively unknown character to many Marvel readers at the time. With the aid of “Emperor of Useless White Boys” Everett K. Ross, and artists like Mark Texeira and Joe Jusko, Priest (a.k.a. Jim Owsley) made Panther a must-read and brought the nature of his character into sharper focus. Kumar and Tim discuss the first 17 issues (the ones included in Black Panther by Christopher Priest: The Complete Collection Volume 1) and see if it still stands up 23 years later. (This episode was originally published March 10, 2021.)

    Michael Hoskin’s 4-part article

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    Brought to you by:







    The Quarter-Bin podcast

    Our supporters on Patreon

    • 1 hr 1 min
    "Delicious in Dungeon" yields a feast

    "Delicious in Dungeon" yields a feast

    Ryoko Kui’s Delicious in Dungeon pokes fun at fantasy games and cooking manga tropes, exploring what it would really be like to be a character in a fantasy game, arranging your life in ways that wouldn’t really make sense in the real world. This week, Kumar and Emmet do a deep dive on this consistently enjoyable and beautifully plotted manga, the anime for which is now on Netflix.

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    Brought to you by:



    * BAT 77: The ’70s Batman podcast

    * Our supporters on Patreon

    • 56 min

Customer Reviews

3.8 out of 5
4 Ratings

4 Ratings

Q Ramzan ,

One of the best comics related podcasts!

A big thanks to tim and friends for producing one of the best comic podcasts on the net. The relaxed but informative style is addictive and I always eagerly look forward to the next one .

CraigRJ ,

Choose carefully

Potentially some of these episodes might be quite good but the two I listened to from recent months weee terrible. In one, the interviewer went off on long rambling questions, interrupting the subject on a few occasions and not following up on answers which begged for a continuation. In the other, the interviewer played the sycophant card throughout, laughing at ridiculous statements and agreeing with everything said n matter how inane.

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