pia guerra

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 333, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 10: Whys and Wherefores (feat. Kenn Edwards)”

Art from ‘Y: The Last Man – Vol. 10: Whys and Wherefores” by Pia Guerra, José Marzan Jr., and Zylonol.

Gobbledygeek episode 333, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 10: Whys and Wherefores (feat. Kenn Edwards),” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Alas, poor Yorick! We knew him, a fellow of infinite wisecracks, of most ridiculous immaturity. We hath borne Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man on our podcast ten times, and now, how abhorred (and a little relieved) in our imagination it is! Our mics rise at it. Here laid those narrative devices about which we kvetched we know not how oft. Where be Guerra’s glorious artwork now? Vaughan’s pithy dialogue? Their penchant for emotional devastation? Their flashes of genius (let’s be honest–they were more than flashes) that here culminate in a tremendous feat of sequential art? We are not ones now to complain after all they’ve accomplished. Quite the opposite. Now get you to iTunes and listen, let us ramble for hours, to this conclusion we must come. Hopefully we will make you laugh, at that. Prithee, Kenn Edwards, let us get to the point.

Next: less Shakespearean speech, more Shakespearean drama. We travel to Wakanda for Black Panther.

(Show notes for “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 10: Whys and Wherefores.”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 328, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 9: Motherland”

Art from ‘Y: The Last Man – Vol. 9: Motherland’ by Pia Guerra, José Marzán, Jr., and Zylonol.

Gobbledygeek episode 328, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 9: Motherland,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Yorick’s gang (there’s gotta be a snappier name, right?) inch closer to destiny in Y: The Last Man – Vol. 9: Motherland, as Paul and Arlo near the end of their Four-Color Flashback discussion of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s beloved comics series. The boys once again rehash their frustrations with putting this series under the occasional monthly microscope, leading Arlo to posit that maybe different books are different kinds of great. Then Paul hashes out the most plausible explanations Vaughan has presented for the manpocalypse, and whether any of them catch the boys’ fancy. Plus, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is more fun than it has any right to be, and it looks like Red Sparrow may be the Black Widow movie Marvel has denied us.

Next: the boys go through the looking glass with season 4 of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror, joined by first-time guest Sarah Kosheff.

(Show notes for “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 9: Motherland.”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 325, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 8: Kimono Dragons (feat. Chance Mazzia)”

Art from ‘Y: The Last Man – Vol. 8: Kimono Dragons’ by Pia Guerra, Jose Marzan Jr., Zylonol, and Clem Robins.

Gobbledygeek episode 325, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 8: Kimono Dragons (feat. Chance Mazzia),” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

This week, Paul and Arlo return to their Four-Color Flashback exploration of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man with Vol. 8: Kimono Dragons. Joining them for the first time in a while is once and future 90 700 Club host Chance Mazzia. Frustrated by some of the detours this Japanese misadventure takes, the gang gets around to asking the question that’s hung over this entire FCF series: nearly a decade removed from publication, is Y: The Last Man still as great as they thought it was? To find the answer, they discuss Vaughan’s writing style, how each volume reads compared to the whole, and what if anything Y contributed to the evolution of the comics medium. Plus, Justice League arrives in theaters (leading to a breakthrough in Paul and Arlo’s relationship), the Avengers assemble for the Infinity War trailer, and Arlo is delighted by The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Next: the Geek Challenge rides again, with a retro kick. Paul will force Arlo to watch Joe Johnston’s 1991 superhero cult classic The Rocketeer, and Arlo will force Paul to watch Gary Ross’ colorful 1998 film Pleasantville.

(Show notes for “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 8: Kimono Dragons.”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 321, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 7: Paper Dolls (feat. Ensley F. Guffey)”

Art from ‘Y: The Last Man – Vol. 7: Paper Dolls’ by Pia Guerra, Jose Marzan Jr., and Zylonol.

Gobbledygeek episode 321, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 7: Paper Dolls (feat. Ensley F. Guffey),” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Appropriately, this month’s Four-Color Flashback entry is riddled with flashbacks, as Y: The Last Man – Vol. 7: Paper Dolls takes a look at Agent 355 and Ampersand’s pasts to give us a taste of what must be going through their heads in the present. Ensley F. Guffey, co-author of Wanna Cook? The Complete, Unofficial Companion to Breaking Bad, joins Paul and Arlo to continue their exploration of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s acclaimed Vertigo series. The gang discusses how this volume shows society’s evolution post-gendercide, puzzles over Yorick’s motivations (what else is new?), and asks Ensley to be smart for them. Plus, Paul got his ass kicked by Atomic Blonde, and Ensley has a few choice words about Nazi Captain America.

Next: Greg Sahadachny of The Debatable Podcast returns to Gobbledygeek to discuss Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood ten years on.

(Show notes for “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 7: Paper Dolls.”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 316, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 6: Girl on Girl”

Art from ‘Y: The Last Man – Vol. 6: Girl on Girl’ by Goran Sudžuka and Zylonol.

Gobbledygeek episode 316, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 6: Girl on Girl,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Landlubber Yorick Brown sets sail for Australia in Y: The Last Man: Vol. 6 – Girl on Girl, and Paul and Arlo are on hand to detail his nautical adventure. Now that their year-long Four-Color Flashback journey through Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s beloved comic book is more than halfway over…the boys have an existential crisis and ponder why it’s been so difficult to discuss their journey. Is a series like Y: The Last Man built for this kind of volume-by-volume analysis? Every comic book is different, so is it fair for the boys to place it under the same scrutiny they did The Sandman? Besides making a classic of the medium sound surprisingly shitty, the boys do mine discussion from Girl on Girl, particularly about how the women in Yorick’s life realize they’re trapping themselves inside his narrative. They swear they love this book. Really. Plus, Arlo forced Amber to watch Firefly and Serenity.

Next: put pedal to the metal as Edgar Wright drops the needle on Baby Driver.

(Show notes for “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 6: Girl on Girl.”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 312, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 5: Ring of Truth”

Art from ‘Y: The Last Man – Vol. 5: Ring of Truth’ by Pia Guerra, Jose Marzan Jr., and Zylonol.

Gobbledygeek episode 312, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 5: Ring of Truth,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Y: The Last Man gets its very own Ring Cycle with Vol. 5: Ring of Truth, wherein Yorick is separated from his engagement ring while the Culper Ring goes head-to-head with the Setauket Ring. Meanwhile, Paul and Arlo’s year-long Four-Color Flashback “study” of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s acclaimed series runs rings around the competition (not that there is any). The boys discuss everyone’s relative morality; the stand-alone issue “Hero’s Journey,” which allows us to see things from a feminine perspective; whether or not it all comes down to crane spunk and monkey shit; and Christ on a cross. Plus, Paul and Arlo remember Chris Cornell.

Next: killer trees are afoot as Wesley “Wezzo” Mead joins the boys once again to discuss Chris Carter’s seminal sci-fi series The X-Files. This time, the gang sets their sights on season 5 and the series’ first big screen outing, Fight the Future.

(Show notes for “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 5: Ring of Truth.”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 305, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 3: One Small Step (feat. Kenn Edwards)”

Listen to Gobbledygeek episode 305, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 3: One Small Step (feat. Kenn Edwards),” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Hallelujah, it’s raining men! As Yorick Brown discovers he may not be the last man in the universe thanks to a space shuttle carrying two others, Paul and Arlo invite Kenn Edwards to join them on their year-long Four-Color Flashback discussion of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man. With Vol. 3: One Small Step, the gang discusses the book’s self-referential devices, the prominence of fiction as a theme, and how Yorick’s progression from boy to man is coming along. There’s also talk of guest artist Paul Chadwick, who fills in for Guerra on the two-issue departure “Comedy & Tragedy”; depending on who you ask, the story is either a Gaiman-esque delight or the height of masturbatory self-indulgence. Fun times! Plus, Arlo and Kenn discuss Dave Chappelle’s new Netflix specials, Jerrod Carmichael’s 8, and, you know, the role of comedy in modern society. Meanwhile, Paul twiddles his thumbs.

Next: throw out your meds, drop the needle on The Dark Side of the Moon, and get ready for a discussion of Noah Hawley’s brain-breaking FX/Marvel TV series Legion.

(Show notes for “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 3: One Small Step.”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 302, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 2: Cycles (feat. Donora Rihn)”

Art from 'Y: The Last Man - Vol. 2: Cycles' by Pia Guerra and José Marzan Jr.

Art from ‘Y: The Last Man – Vol. 2: Cycles’ by Pia Guerra and José Marzan Jr.

Gobbledygeek episode 302, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 2: Cycles (feat. Donora Rihn),” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Bringing a much-needed feminist perspective to a story about a man surrounded on all sides by women, Jeff Bridges poet Donora Rihn joins Paul and Arlo for their year-long Four-Color Flashback exploration of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s acclaimed Vertigo comic book series Y: The Last Man. This time, the gang discusses Vol. 2: Cycles, which collects issues #6-10 of the original series. Donora asks Paul and Arlo how they perceive the book as men, and if they think it shows Yorick growing into his role as the last man on Earth; in turn, Paul and Arlo ask Donora if she finds Vaughan’s narrative voice to be overwhelmingly male and if it fairly represents its many female characters. In between, Arlo can’t stop recommending things to comics newbie Donora, there is yet more praise of Guerra’s clean and beautiful artwork, and there are select readings from Valeria Solanas’ SCUM Manifesto. Plus, Donora has a new name and the gang remembers the late great Bill Paxton.

Next: after a week off for another of Arlo’s poop cruises, the boys sharpen their claws to discuss the final Wolverine film, Logan.

(Show notes for “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 2: Cycles.”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 299, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 1: Unmanned”

y1

Gobbledygeek episode 299, “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 1: Unmanned,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

FIVE SECONDS AGO: Arlo cracks open the first volume of Y: The Last Man. FOUR SECONDS AGO: Paul berates Arlo for not turning on his mic. THREE SECONDS AGO: Arlo rolls his eyes, turns on mic. TWO SECONDS AGO: Arlo loudly eats into the microphone. ONE SECOND AGO: Paul presses record.

NOW: Gobbledygeek‘s 2017 Four-Color Flashback series is here. This year, the boys will be discussing all ten volumes of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s acclaimed Vertigo series Y: The Last Man, in which every male mammal on the planet drops dead at the same time…save one young escape artist cum layabout and his pet monkey. With Vol. 1: Unmanned, the boys dive into the adventures of Yorick Brown, the laconic Agent 355, and the many varied women they come across during their adventures. Under discussion are the series’ politics, its place in Vaughan’s career, and what makes Guerra’s simple and clean artwork so effective. Plus, Arlo was on a boat, Paul sang along to Moana, and they both struggle to find the joy in discussing pop culture during this incredibly despairing time in American history.

Next: the mythical episode 300 is upon us. Dr. Kenn Edwards, PhD will plumb the tender, fragile psyches of Paul and Arlo. The show will never be the same. They will never be the same. You will never be the same.

(Show notes for “Y: The Last Man – Vol. 1: Unmanned.”)