Gobbledygeek episode 469, “FCF: The Many Deaths of Laila Starr,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

What happens when a child is born who will invent immortality? According to Ram V and Filipe Andrade’s The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, Death is fired from her job, is cast into a mortal body, and attempts to find and murder this child. Oh, she also dies a lot. On this month’s Four-Color Flashback, Paul & Arlo discuss the book’s unique approach to Indian mythology, Andrade’s beautifully distorted figures, V’s ability to be self-serious without being pretentious, and more. Plus, Paul gets into Severance, the boys aren’t feeling This Is Us‘ final season, and Arlo reads more Superman.

NEXT: it’s an MCU catch-up session. The boys will discuss the trifecta of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

BREAKDOWN

• 00:00:34  –  Intro / Banter
• 00:27:39  –  The Many Deaths of Laila Starr
• 01:32:20  –  Selecting the next FCF
• 01:36:03  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

• “‘The Many Deaths of Laila Starr’ is more than the sum of its parts” by Meera S. Kumar, The Michigan Daily
• “Read This Book: The Many Deaths of Laila Starr” by unclehighlander, Biff Bam Pop
• “INTERVIEW: Ram V and Filipe Andrade on Death’s rude awakening in THE MANY DEATHS OF LAILA STARR” by Nancy Powell, The Beat

MUSIC

• “(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight” by Cutting Crew, Broadcast (1986)
• “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult, Agents of Fortune (1976)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ 
• Support AAPI communities and those affected by anti-Asian violence: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
• Support the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund: https://aapifund.org/
• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• The Trevor Project provides information and support to LGBTQ youth: thetrevorproject.org
• Trans Lifeline: https://translifeline.org/ 
  • US (877) 565-8860
  • Canada (877) 330-6366
• National Center for Transgender Equality: transequality.org
• Advocate for writers who might be owed money due to discontinuance of royalties: https://www.writersmustbepaid.org/ 
• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/
• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/