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© 2006-2023
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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
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
439 Episodes
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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, … Continue reading #858 Celebrating 20 years by reviewing a 20-year-old film (“Superman Returns”)
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 … Continue reading #857 Carol Tyler’s “The Ephemerata”: Making sense of the worst of all possible stretches
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 … Continue reading #856 Jim Keefe interview
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 … Continue reading #855 Jack Kirby’s “Captain America” 214 & Annual 3: Cap vs the Space Vampire!
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 … Continue reading #410 Marvel Comics: Telling the Untold Story
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 … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #246: “Roy Beckwith and the Cursed Continent” and “A French Expat in the U.K.”
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 … Continue reading #854 “Superman” (2025): Its commentary on other supermen
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 … Continue reading #853 The strange history of “Robotech”
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 … Continue reading #369 “Krazy Kat”: Show me the bricks
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 … Continue reading #852 Dan Schkade and “Flash Gordon”
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. … Continue reading #358 Carl Barks, “The Good Duck Artist”
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 … Continue reading #851 Jack Kirby’s “Cap and Falcon” 212-213: “I love you, baby!”
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 … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #245: “Joe Mallard” 4-6 and “Dream Machine”
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 … Continue reading #850 “Fantastic Four: First Steps” (2025): Did it live up to the hype?
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 … Continue reading #849 “Almost Sunset”: Wahab Algarmi on growing up Muslim in America
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 … Continue reading #848 “More Weight”: Ben Wickey talks Salem witch trials
The film is bloated, it’s busy, it showcases numerous failures at human communication, and doesn’t hit some points it needs to. And yet, Spider-Man 3 screenwriter Alvin Sargent managed to weave together the many plotlines thrust on him to make a script with a message – although not necessarily the one director Sam Raimi had … Continue reading “Spider-Man 3” (2007)
To this day, Spider-man 2 is considered one of the best superhero movies. How does it stand up to Tim’s first viewing, after watching all the MCU movies that came after? What does Mulele notice about the look of the film that’s a little annoying? How is Spider-fan Tim feeling about the portrayal of Peter … Continue reading “Spider-Man 2” (2004)
Tim and Mulele begin reviewing the Sony (pre-MCU) Spider-man movies with a look at 2002’s Spider-man, directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire. After watching all the MCU movies, how does this film feel different? How was it affected by 9/11? And more. (Originally published on Patreon April 11, 2020) Brought to you by: … Continue reading “Spider-Man” (2002)
This week, a look at two great new comics submitted by their creators: God Summoner, by Dio Zogaris and Manos Laouvardos, is a story in the fantasy genre. Tim and Jason thought “Meh” until they actually read it! This is a well-written story with beautiful black and white art. The Keluarga Cable Ship Company, by … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #244: “God Summoner” and “The Keluarga Cable Ship Company”
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