Episode 210: Reviews of Black Eye #3, Ancestor, and Frontier #13 - a podcast by Stergios Botzakis & Derek Royal

from 2016-10-19T13:43:09

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On this week's review episode, Paul joins Derek to discuss three titles that are certainly out of the ordinary. They begin with Black Eye No. 3, an anthology edited by Ryan Standfest, the publisher of Rotland Press. This is a first for The Comics Alternative in a couple of different ways. It is the first time the Two Guys are reviewing a Rotland Press title, but more significantly, this is the first time they have discussed a crowd-funded book before the campaign's completion. And listeners are strongly encouraged to back this project on Indiegogo. Calling itself "the anthology of humor and despair," Black Eye is a series devoted to short, offbeat comic stories, illustrations, and prose pieces, although in the current (and final) volume there is a noticeable absence of the latter. Both Derek and Paul recognize several of the contributors in this anthology -- including Joan Cornellà, Martin Rowson, Eric Haven, David Lynch, Julia Gfrörer, Onsmith, and Alejandro Jodorowsky -- but much of the joy in this volume comes from discovering the work of newer creators. And there is a lot of talent here!

Next, the guys check out a more conventional work, Matt Sheean and Malachi Ward's Ancestor (Image Comics). Although "conventional" might be a stretch here. Originally serialized in the anthology Island, this is a futuristic, or perhaps an alternate-world, narrative exploring our relationship with networked technologies and the potential consequences of complete creative freedom. As the guys point out, the story takes an unexpected turn in the final chapter, ultimately walking a fine line between paradise and dystopia.

Paul and Derek wrap up this week's show with a look at the latest in Youth in Decline's quarterly monograph series, Frontier. This thirteenth issue showcases the work of Richie Pope and is titled "Fatherson." As the guys point out, it's a poignant and idiosyncratic meditation on fatherhood, specifically African American fatherhood. In fact, Derek and Paul discuss the racial specificity of the text, while at the same time observing that the story is not bound by ethnic contexts. Pope is primarily known as an illustrator -- his work has appeared in the The New York Times, The Atlantic, Scientific American, and The New Yorker, among other titles -- but this issue of Frontier aptly demonstrates his abilities in sequential storytelling.

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