vertigo

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 443 – “FCF: Sweet Tooth: Deluxe Edition – Books Two and Three”

Art from Sweet Tooth: Deluxe Edition – Book Two by Jeff Lemire & José Villarrubia

Gobbledygeek episode 443, “FCF: Sweet Tooth: Deluxe Edition – Books Two and Three,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Nature is healing. For this month’s Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo conclude the post-apocalyptic journeys of  The Boy and the Big Man with Jeff Lemire’s Sweet Tooth: Deluxe Edition – Books Two and Three. The remnants of humanity fight tooth and nail for survival against the paws and claws of the human/animal hybrid children, who only seem to be increasing in number. Which begs the question, Whose apocalypse is this, exactly? The boys discuss the obvious influence of Lost on the book, whether or not Lemire should have thrown back a certain Fish, the series’ beautiful finale, and how horses are just really tough to draw.

NEXT: could be Loki, could be low-key.

CORRECTION

Paul and Arlo rave about Jeff Lemire’s use of watercolors throughout Sweet Tooth. That praise should actually be reserved for brilliant colorist José Villarrubia. Sorry, José!

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:55  –  Intro / Guest
  • 00:04:40  –  Main Topic
  • 01:47:23  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “(Nothing But) Flowers” by Talking Heads, Naked (1988)
  • “Nature Trail to Hell” by “Weird Al” Yankovic, In 3-D (1984)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 440 – “FCF: Sweet Tooth”

Art from Sweet Tooth: The Deluxe Edition – Book One (2009) by Jeff Lemire & José Villarrubia

Gobbledygeek episode 440, “FCF: Sweet Tooth,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Imagine a world where a global pandemic killed millions and changed society forever. Spooky stuff, huh? Well, take a break from reality with this month’s Four-Color Flashback: Sweet Tooth: The Deluxe Edition – Book One, comprising the first 12 issues of Jeff Lemire’s offbeat breakthrough about a little deer boy and the post-apocalyptic hell that awaits him in the wilds of Nebraska. Along the way, he meets a Frank Miller-style tough guy named Jepperd, who seems to be the grizzled protector to Gus’ naive innocent. It’s a little more complicated than that, of course. Paul and Arlo discuss Lemire’s weird, idiosyncratic artwork; the way he uses the faces and especially the eyes of his laconic characters to convey so much; and how the new Netflix adaptation is radically different.

NEXT: dust off that mail robot, it’s time for The Americans season 2 with British secret agent Wesley “Wezzo” Mead.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:47  –  Intro / Banter
  • 00:19:38  –  Sweet Tooth: The Deluxe Edition – Book One
  • 01:37:00  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “My Father’s House” by Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska (1982)
  • “Out of the Woods” by Taylor Swift, 1989 (2014)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 428 – “FCF: Prince of Cats”

Art and dialogue from Prince of Cats (2012) by Ronald Wimberly

Gobbledygeek episode 428, “FCF: Prince of Cats,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Two hosts, unalike in dignity, in fair Gobbledygeek, where we set our podcast. For this month’s Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo pull out a boombox blasting Romeo and Juliet side B. In Prince of Cats, Ronald Wimberly passes the mic to Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, a sideways entry point into the events that lead to and inform the soapy classic. Oh, and did we mention this version stars a Black cast living in an ‘80s NYC where everybody participates in an underground samurai swordfighting ring? The boys discuss Wimberly’s ingenious distortion of Shakespearean language; his manga-influenced art; how the book enriches (perhaps even improves upon?) the play; and what it means to tell this story from a race-conscious perspective.

NEXT: oh hey, it’s that Christopher Plummer Geek Challenge we promised. Mike Nichols’ Wolf and Michael Mann’s The Insider go head-to-head.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:48  –  Intro / Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet
  • 00:23:00  –  Prince of Cats
  • 01:03:45  –  (Interlude: Paul reads NSFW Shakespearean dialogue from Prince of Cats)
  • 01:55:08  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “Step Off” by Grandmaster Melle-Mel & The Furious Five (1984)
  • “Sucker M.C.’s” by Run-DMC, Run-DMC (1983)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 422 – “FCF: Sandman Mystery Theatre – Book One (feat. Vickie Willis Navarra)”

Art from Sandman Mystery Theatre: Book One (1993) by Guy Davis and David Hornung

Gobbledygeek episode 422, “Sandman Mystery Theatre – Book One (feat. Vickie Willis Navarra)”, is available for listening or download right here and on Apple Podcasts here.

For the penultimate Gobbledygeek of the year, Paul and Arlo return to an institution they dropped like a bad habit at the start of the pandemic: the Four-Color Flashback! Vickie Willis Navarra, board member of the Comics and Popular Arts Conference at DragonCon, joins the boys to discuss Sandman Mystery Theatre: Book One. Matt Wagner’s resurrection of DC’s Golden Age hero Wesley Dodds, with art by Guy Davis, John Watkiss, R.G. Taylor, and David Hornung, explores the dark dreams of 1938 New York. The gang discusses the art’s sketchy, shadowy noir qualities; Vickie interrupts her praise of Dian Belmont long enough to wonder if Dian falls into the “exceptional female” trope; Paul and Arlo ponder the series’ connection to Neil Gaiman’s Sandman; and more.

NEXT: season 11 comes to a close with a Geek Challenge featuring Thunderheart and Dead Man.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:55  –  Intro / Guest
  • 00:00:00  –  Main Topic
  • 00:00:00  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “Begin the Beguine” by Artie Shaw (1938)
  • “I’ve Got a Pocketful of Dreams” by Bing Crosby (1938)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 392 – “Four-Color Flashback: Daytripper”

Art from ‘Daytripper’ (2010) by Gabriel Bá, Fábio Moon & Dave Stewart.

Gobbledygeek episode 392, “Four-Color Flashback: Daytripper,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

It took Brás de Oliva Domingos so long to find out, and he found out. What, if anything, he found out is the central question of Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá’s 2010 Vertigo series Daytripper, subject of our final Four-Color Flashback for 2019. You see, Brás writes obituaries for a São Paulo newspaper–and at the end of most chapters in this book, he dies. Twin writers/artists Moon and Bá pave the way for an existential journey along the many turning points of a life, from the imperceptible to the unmistakable. Paul and Arlo discuss Daytripper’s hint of magical realism; the coherent, airtight structure that grounds the book’s absurdity; how the series’ hopeful attitude brushes up against horrific tragedy; Moon and Bá’s distinctive (though not so distinctive we know who is penciling and/or inking what!) art style, accentuated by master colorist Dave Stewart; and more.

Next: on the Gobbledygeek season 10 finale, Christmas gets twisted with John McPhail’s 2018 horror-comedy-musical Anna and the Apocalypse.

THE BREAKDOWN

Total Run Time: 01:32:47

  • 00:00:42  – Intro
  • 00:06:30  – Daytripper
  • 01:26:40  – Outro / Next

THE MUSIC

  • “Day Tripper” by Sergio Mendes & Brasil ‘66, Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil ‘66 (1966)
  • “Circle of Life” by Carmen Twillie & Lebo M, The Lion King (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1994)

THE LINKS

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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.”)