Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 496 – “FCF: Boxers & Saints”

Art from Boxers & Saints (2013) by Gene Luen Yang & Lark Pien

Gobbledygeek episode 496, “FCF: Boxers & Saints,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

For this month’s Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo tackle a blindspot from one of their favorite writers. Gene Luen Yang, author of Gobbledyfaves like American Born Chinese and Avatar: The Last Airbender, tells the brutal story of the Boxer Rebellion in Boxers & Saints. The graphic novel duology delves into complex subjects like faith, spirituality, nationalism, and fascism; we cover ‘em all, hopefully in something resembling depth. Plus, Arlo returns to the city of Metropolis for more Superman comics, including mega-event The Death and Return of Superman and Grant Morrison & Mark Waid’s JLA run. 

NEXT: we find our inner Greenwich Village folksters with a Geek Challenge featuring Noah Kahan’s Stick Season and Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:30  –  Intro / Arlo’s Adventures of Superman
  • 00:36:45  –  Boxers & Saints
  • 02:20:14  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “The Boxer” by Simon & Garfunkle, Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
  • “It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City” by Bruce Springsteen, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973)

GOBBLEDYCARES

Last Month’s Comics: ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ Swings In and DC’s New 52 Roll Out

Welcome to Last Month’s Comics, in which I discuss, uh, last month’s comics. I get my comics in bi-monthly shipments from Discount Comic Book Service, and as such, I can be a little behind. So here we are. This feature started last month.

So, September 2011, what kind of havoc did you wreak? Let’s find out…

BEST RETURN TO FORM

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9 #1
Writer: Joss Whedon
Art: Georges Jeanty (pencils), Dexter Vines (inks), Michelle Madsen (colors)
Publisher: Dark Horse

To say that I was pleased upon finishing the first issue of the new “season” of Buffy is an understatement. Season 8 started off very well, with Buffy leading an army of 500 Slayers and trying to unmask the mysterious foe Twilight. And to tell the truth, it was great for much of its run, with an occasional stumble (vampires being outed to the public wasn’t handled with much finesse). But the last story arc, with the reveal of Angel as Twilight, cosmic sex, and general batshit insanity, was so damaging that even someone who considers Buffy the Vampire Slayer to be the greatest piece of entertainment ever given us by man had come to the conclusion that it might be for the best if Ms. Summers was finally laid to rest. The final issue of Season 8, though, was a dramatic 180 from the pace and structure of the last few issues leading up to it, and the Season 9 premiere continues in that vein. With Giles gone and magic vanquished, Buffy is depressed and adrift, working as a waitress and getting blackout drunk. It’s all done with Whedon’s razor-sharp wit and keen sense of twenty-something angst. The final “shock twist” is so humdrum and everyday it’s hilarious. In many ways, the metaphorical “party” is over for our Scoobies; now what? I can’t wait to find out.

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