Episode 203: Reviews of The Black Monday Murders #1, Kingsway West #1, Jeff Steinberg: Champion of Earth #1, and Superf*ckers Forever #1 - a podcast by Stergios Botzakis & Derek Royal

from 2016-08-31T12:14:43

:: ::

Episode203-banner

Time Codes:

  • 00:00:35 - Introduction
  • 00:02:39 - Setup of reviews
  • 00:03:07 - Listener mail
  • 00:06:13 - The Black Monday Murders #1
  • 00:27:30 - Kingsway West #1
  • 00:39:49 - Jeff Steinberg: Champion of Earth #1
  • 00:54:04 - Superf*ckers Forever #1
  • 01:06:47 - Wrap up
  • 01:07:56 - Contact us
  • 01:09:47 - "Superf*ckers Theme Song"

blkfade

This week the Two Guys decide to mix up their routine a bit and review nothing but recent #1 issues. They begin with Jonathan Hickman and Tomm Coker's The Black Monday Murders (Image Comics), a unique take on the crime genre. In this extra-long first issue, Hickman unpacks his premise via design, prose, and visuals, creating a dense narrative world filled with conspiratorial intrigue and anchored in history.

Next, Andy and Derek discuss an even more genre-bending comic, Kingsway West (Dark Horse Comics). Written by Greg Pak and with art by Mirko Colak, the story combines fantasy with the mid-nineteenth-century American West, while at the same time hovering in the territory of alternate history.

Things get more comedic when the guys turn to Joshua Hale Fialkov and Tony Fleecs's Jeff Steinberg: Champion of Earth (Oni Press). The eponymous hero is a textbook loser who, through an infamous bout of constipation, is chosen by alien forces to determine the future of Earth. Also, President Obama high fives his Joint Chiefs!

The guys end on a much more explicit note with their last #1 issue, James Kochalka's Superf*ckers Forever, published by IDW. (And to make their discussion easier, Andy and Derek don't shy away from using language that may offend more delicate ears.) This is Kochalka's return to his whacked-out superhero series, complete with Superdan, Ultra Richard, Grotessa, and Wonder Kyle. And yes, Jack Krak is still the motherf*cker.

BlackMonday-interior

Further episodes of The Comics Alternative

Further podcasts by Stergios Botzakis & Derek Royal

Website of Stergios Botzakis & Derek Royal