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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
193 Episodes
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Send us a text You'll find all kinds of goodies in this oversized holiday episode which we've dubbed an "annual." In true comic fashion, we ran out of stories to cover by a week so we've compiled an annual edition. Alex and Mike talk about the books they'd like to cover for 2023 as well as shine a light on the book selection process. Each podcaster provides a list of books that they'd like to cover as well as books they love but don't fit the podcast. Those books are broken into a few bucke...
Send us a text In this one-shot, Mike sits down with Javon Harris. Javon has dreamt of writing and publishing manga (Japanese comics) since the 3rd grade. Now, he's making it happen. In 2022, he founded what is now an international collaboration of creators and he's trying to get the word out. Know someone who is a manga fan? Be sure to share this episode with them! Be sure to support his efforts by reading and commenting on new chapters at: www.lumebento.net Follow them on: Facebook Inst...
Send us a text We've reached the end of another calendar year and once again, Mike and Alex have come up one week short on stories to talk about. But fear not! Earlier this month, Mike, Alex, and great friend of the show Andy took a quick road trip up Interstate 71 to attend GalaxyCon Columbus 2023 and decided that was a perfect opportunity to record a podcast episode. In the car. So with Andy driving, Mike handling the recording, and Alex contributing pretty much nothing, the trio run down t...
Send us a text This is a very special one-off episode. Alex and Mike were asked to host a meet-up night at a local Cincinnati Manga shop (Manga Manga.) We recorded the entire discussion and you can hear us discuss western comics, manga, and more! Keep your notes app open since there are a ton of great recommendations we gathered from people in attendance. Here are some of the recommendations: Witch Hat Atelier Digimon Land of the Lustrous A few apologies for the audio qual...
Send us a text As always, join our discussion on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website. Welcome to Storied Arcs! The podcast for deep dives into indie comics. 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 c...
Send us a text Join co-hosts Mike and Alex as they provide a spoiler-free preview of what's to come in the ensuing trade-by-trade analysis of Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang from Image Comics. They'll introduce the creative team, key information, and most importantly, why they love this book and decided to start their podcast off with it. As always, join our discussion on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website. Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs Find us on your fa...
Send us a text Welcome to scenic Stony Stream, Ohio! Okay fine, it's just suburban Cleveland. In 1988. In this episode, co-hosts Mike and Alex kick off the first season of Storied Arcs by breaking down Paper Girls Volume 1 (issues 1-5). They discuss the storytelling choices made by the creative team that are specific to sequential art, the use (or potential overuse) of nostalgia when dealing with period setting, and Alex gives his three immutable theories for time travel in fiction (as...
Send us a text If you could be told with exact certainty when you were going to die, would you want to know? Would you find that knowledge be freeing or burdensome? Mike and Alex go deep on that very topic and more as they cover Paper Girls Volume 2 (issues 6-10). They touch on how prescient it was in 2015 to refer to 2016 as the begin of The Problems and how weird it would be to meet an younger version of yourself. Or an older one, for that matter. Not that 40 is old or anything because it ...
Send us a text Travel back to 11,706 BCE and meet the woman who invented time travel! But she's not even technically the first time traveler because people from the future will use the technology she invented to go back into the past which will allow people from that past to go even further into the past and thus be present in that past when she arrives there after having just invented time travel in the future. Everybody clear? Good. As they jump into Paper Girls Volume 3 (issues 11-15), M...
Send us a text Where were you when Y2K hit? Were you hiding in a fallout bunker? In Times Square to watch the ball drop? Or were you defiantly at your computer, actively ignoring the explicit warnings of electronics retailers, like one of your podcast hosts? And if you were too young to remember Y2K or weren't even born yet, we're curious- what do you know about it? Do they talk about the giant robots? Because that totally happened. Trust me. I was there. In this episode, Mike and Alex revis...
Send us a text It's true, folks; the future's so bright, you gotta wear shades. But never mind that, we have more important things to discuss, like, if you had to say, which Ninja Turtle are you? In this week's episode, Mike and Alex travel into the future for Paper Girls Volume 5 (issues 21-25) and talk about how things there maybe aren't so different from how they are right now. Over-policing? Still an issue. Hospitals? No insurance, no help. Libraries? Woefully underutilized always helpf...
Send us a text Maybe the real storied arcs are the friends we made along the way. In this season finale, Mike and Alex discuss the epic conclusion to Paper Girls in the final story arc, Volume 6 (issues 26 - 30). Endings are hard because it's nearly impossible to give everyone the satisfying closure they're looking for. Spoiler alert- this one nails it. Thanks for listening along all season and we hope you enjoyed diving deeper into this incredible story. Don't forget to send in your commen...
Send us a text After six long weeks of a deep dive into the source material, Alex and Mike share their thoughts on Amazon Prime's adaptation of Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang. Long story short, they LOVED it! This episode does contain spoilers for Season 1 of Paper Girls and a fair bit of speculation for future seasons based on what we know from the comics. If you have not watched Season 1 yet then we highly recommend downloading this episode and saving it for late...
Send us a text Welcome to the Grass Kingdom! In this episode, Alex and Mike will give a spoiler-free pitch for Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins' Eisner-nominated book, Grass Kings. You'll get a background on Boom Studios, bio and overview of the creators Matt Kindt, Tyler Jenkins, and Jim Campbell, as well as a spoiler-free synopsis and breakdown of the main characters. Grab this in single-issue from your local comic shop, in the three trade paperback collected editions, or borrow it...
Send us a text You are now entering the Grass Kingdom! In this episode, Mike and Alex discuss the first volume (issues 1-6) of Grass Kings by Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins, including Jenkins' stunning artwork, the innate need for war and conflict found in human nature, and what this book has to say, if anything, about the idea of sovereign citizenry. As always, join our discussion on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website. Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs Find us on your favori...
Send us a text What's the price of living in a free society? Is constant surveillance acceptable if you're the one doing it and not the big bad overlords of the world? And do the rules change at all if you find out there might be a serial killer living among you? Mike and Alex explore these questions and more and they jump into Grass Kings Volume 2 (issues 6-10). They touch on what feels like a shift in tone for the comic and how a change in focus reshapes our view of both the story and the ...
Send us a text A community of people living off the grid, opposed to government oversight, get raided by federal agents. That's never ended poorly before, right? Join Mike and Alex as they cover the EPIC conclusion to Grass Kings in Volume 3 (issues 11-15), where the Kingdom faces off against the outside world, their own personal demons, and oh yeah, a serial killer. Listen in to hear how the guys rate the ending of the series and their thoughts on what did and didn't work throughout the run...
Send us a text In this episode, we have an exclusive interview with the INSANELY talented Hilary Jenkins who provided colors for Eisner-nominated Grass Kings and continued her collaboration with Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins into Black Badge, Fear Case, and Apache Delivery Service. We talk about the creative process and the colorist's role in comic creation. We also discuss her other comic projects and will provide links to her work and original artwork on our website, www.storieda...
Send us a text In this episode, the guys discuss Mike's all-time favorite comic creator: Jeff Lemire (Alex is a big fan, too, just not quite on the buy-every-Jeff-Lemire-variant-cover-published-regardless-of-series level Mike is). They give a history of Lemire's work, an overview of his style and themes, and finally, provide a synopsis and sales pitch for their next discussion, The Underwater Welder! Find the original graphic novel (or OGN, as the cool kids say) at your local comic shop or p...
Send us a text "The most spectacular episode of The Twilight Zone that was never produced." - Damon Lindelof, from the introduction to The Underwater Welder In this oversized, one-shot episode, Mike and Alex cover the entire book for Jeff Lemire's solo masterpiece, The Underwater Welder. No chapter breaks, no multiple volumes, just the whole story all at once, so be sure you've finished reading before jumping into the episode. They discuss how the exploration and presentation of time is cent...
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