Storied Arcs

Storied Arcs

Welcome to Storied Arcs! A read-along deep dive into comics, one story arc at a time...In each episode, we will discuss one story arc, typically in the form of a trade paperback, for a completed comic series. In general, we will be avoiding ongoing or continuing series so that we can discuss a work in its entirety. We’ll also be avoiding the “big two” (Marvel and DC.) While we love those comics, there are plenty of podcasts covering characters like Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and so on. Instead, we’re excited to explore some of the great creator-owned stories. We’ll deep dive into the story while evaluating the prose, art, and all the easter eggs we can find. Learn more at www.storiedarcs.com

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  1. Episode 1

    Intro to The Manhattan Projects & Creator Spotlight: Nick Pitarra and Jordie Belaire

    Send us Fan Mail On this season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex are exploring the limits of science and morality as they get ready to cover The Manhattan Projects by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra from Image Comics. The guys previously covered writer Jonathan Hickman with his book The Nightly News and letterer Rus Wooten when they discussed Extremity, so in this episode, they take a look at artist Nick Pitarra and main series colorist Jordie Bellaire (who they somehow haven't covered before), as well as the other artist and colorists who contributed to the book throughout its run. Then they give a spoiler-free pitch for the comic, which asks the question- what if the minds what developed the atomic bomb were actually brought together to do something sinister. You know, besides develop the atomic bomb. We kick things off with The Manhattan Projects Volume 1: Science Bad (issues #1-5), so pick it up wherever you get your comics and join us back here again next week! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs Find us on your favorite podcast platform and leave a 5-star review!Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsOr specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.comSubscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

    Intro to The Manhattan Projects & Creator Spotlight: Nick Pitarra and Jordie Belaire

  2. Episode 2

    The Manhattan Projects Volume 1: Science Bad

    Send us Fan Mail "Most people cannot tell ze difference between a genius and just ze highly intelligent." Kicking off this new season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex crack open Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra's The Manhattan Projects from Image Comics with Volume 1: Science Bad (issues #1-5). The guys start with a broad look at how wild this comic is right out the gate, from Hickman's writing to Pitarra's art, and how it immediately sets the tone for what you're about to read. Then they discuss the level at which the book does and does not intersect and interact with known history, and how reading it post-Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer has a radical influence on how you receive the material (in a good way, mostly). Finally, the guys discuss where they think a story like this can go, given the anthology-like nature of the comic and the apparent lack (as of now) of a main narrative through line. The book only gets crazier from here, so go pick up The Manhattan Projects Volume 2: They Rule (issues #6-10) wherever you get your comics and join us here again next week to dive into all of the madness! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs Find us on your favorite podcast platform and leave a 5-star review!Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsOr specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.comSubscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

    The Manhattan Projects Volume 1: Science Bad

  3. Episode 3

    The Manhattan Projects Volume 2: They Rule

    Send us Fan Mail "Wait... so we now have unlimited funding to try and discover how to do things we've already discovered how to do." This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex continue their trip through the alternate history of Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra's The Manhattan Projects with Volume 2: They Rule (issues #6-10) from Image Comics. The guys examine the anthology-like nature of the narrative, and discuss how expanding the cast of characters and scope of the story hits differently with this book (and why that's a feature, not a bug). They also breakdown Ryan Browne's turn as guest artist for issue #10 and how Jordie Bellaire's consistency on colors helps sell the story. Finally, they give some love to the cover design work done by Jonathan Hickman, which is both subtle and obvious at the same time. This book's only getting weirder from here, so pick up The Manhattan Projects Volume 3: Building (issues #11-15) wherever you get your comics and we'll you see you back here next week! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs Find us on your favorite podcast platform and leave a 5-star review!Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsOr specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.comSubscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

    The Manhattan Projects Volume 2: They Rule

  4. Episode 4

    The Manhattan Projects Volume 3: Building

    Send us Fan Mail "It seems, in winning, that we have become afflicted with ze malady called responsibility." This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex continue their exploration into The Manhattan Projects by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra with Volume 3: Building (issues #11-15). The guys discuss the escalation in the absurdity of the book (compliment) and how Hickman and Pitarra are managing an anthology-esque story across an on-going comic. Then they dive deep into Jordie Bellaire's colors, with specific attention paid to how those colors are utilized as storytelling hacks for the reader. This comic only continues to get wilder and weirder, and we'll be back next week to jump into The Manhattan Projects Volume 4: The Four Disciplines (issues #16-20). Find it wherever you get your comics and join us then! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs Find us on your favorite podcast platform and leave a 5-star review!Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsOr specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.comSubscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

    The Manhattan Projects Volume 3: Building

  5. Episode 5

    The Manhattan Projects Vol. 4: The Four Disciplines

    Send us Fan Mail "But I think it's time for something new- truly radical thoughts. To ze underbelly of what we call science- into ze abyss and out towards ze unknown." Mike and Alex are back to dive deep into The Manhattan Projects Volume 4: The Four Disciplines (issues #16-20) by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra. The guys discuss how this volume feels like the closing of the first chapter of this story (aka Oppenheimer) and the beginning of the next (aka Einstein), even though that's not exactly what's happening with the comic. They talk about the narrative risks Hickman and Pitarra take in this volume and what those risks communicate about where they think the story might be headed. How does knowing that the comic effectively "ends" next volume effect how we look at the choices the creators made here? And is that hindsight totally fair? The Manhattan Projects both ends and don't end with the next volume, and if that's confusing, we'll explain next week. Grab Volume 5: The Cold War (issues #21-25) wherever you get your comics and join us back here again to make sense of it all! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs Find us on your favorite podcast platform and leave a 5-star review!Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsOr specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.comSubscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

    The Manhattan Projects Vol. 4: The Four Disciplines

  6. Episode 6

    The Manhattan Projects Vol. 5: The Cold War

    Send us Fan Mail "Does abandoning society- humanity- for science make you a sociopath? Was I better than the other because I could still ask such a question? Should I even ask such a question?" This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex come to the end (question mark?) of Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra's The Manhattan Projects that isn't actually the end, with Volume 5: The Cold War (issues #20-25). They start with Hickman's letter at the end of issue #25, in which he lays out his and Pitarra's plan for the future of the book, and dissect how influences their views on this volume. Does this volume still work as an ending to the first phase of the comic if the next phase barely makes it out of the gate? With those thoughts in mind, the guys take a look at all of the story lines laid out in this volume and speculate some on what kinds of books we could have gotten out of them. Along the way, the address yet another depiction of the Kennedy Assassination in a book they've covered here and perhaps the greatest interpretation of LBJ ever put on page. We wrap things up for real on The Manhattan Projects next week with Volume 6: The Sun Beyond the Stars (issues #1-4 of The Manhattan Projects: The Sun Beyond the Stars), the one and only (as of now) follow up series in the previously announced new anthology format. Find it wherever you get your comics and join us back here to see where this crazy ride ends! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs Find us on your favorite podcast platform and leave a 5-star review!Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsOr specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.comSubscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

    The Manhattan Projects Vol. 5: The Cold War

  7. Episode 7

    The Manhattan Projects Vol. 6: The Sun Beyond The Stars

    Send us Fan Mail "It's space. There are, like, a billion ways for the universe to screw us." On this week's Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex reach the actual end of Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra's The Manhattan Projects with Volume 6: The Sun Beyond the Stars (issues #1-4 of The Manhattan Projects: The Sun Beyond the Stars). The guys dig into how they should view this final volume of the comic in relation to the main story, as it serves as an accidental stand-alone coda and a vision for what we could have gotten down line. Then they discuss why they think this storyline was the first one Hickman and Pitarra wanted to explore post-main series, and if it's any sort of commentary on the preceding 25 issues. Finally, the guys share some thoughts about the (as of yet) unrealized other potential Manhattan Projects miniseries and the kinds of things they would have liked to have seen for them (it's never to late, Hickman and Pitarra!). This wraps up another season of Storied Arcs. We'll be back next week to intro our next comic and kick off the discussion! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs Find us on your favorite podcast platform and leave a 5-star review!Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsOr specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.comSubscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

    The Manhattan Projects Vol. 6: The Sun Beyond The Stars
See All Season 53 (7)

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About

Welcome to Storied Arcs! A read-along deep dive into comics, one story arc at a time...In each episode, we will discuss one story arc, typically in the form of a trade paperback, for a completed comic series. In general, we will be avoiding ongoing or continuing series so that we can discuss a work in its entirety. We’ll also be avoiding the “big two” (Marvel and DC.) While we love those comics, there are plenty of podcasts covering characters like Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and so on. Instead, we’re excited to explore some of the great creator-owned stories. We’ll deep dive into the story while evaluating the prose, art, and all the easter eggs we can find. Learn more at www.storiedarcs.com

Information

  • Creator
    Storied Arcs
  • Episodes
    225
  • Seasons
    52
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Storied Arcs
  • Show Website
    Storied Arcs