SiDEBAR - COMICS, ART & POP CULTURE

Podcast Episode 174 :: The Year in Booty (2011)

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2011. The year that was. And yes, there was some phat booty. We acquired tons of comics, OGNs, trades and artbooks over this past year. The goodness flowed freely! Somebody came up with the idea of us celebrating our year's take on the show (me), so here we are. Don't judge us too harshly.

We also cover some highlights and memorable moments on this one. 2011 was not without its peaks and valleys. For the most part, though, it was all good. 

A sincere thank you to every single person who downloaded an episode this year. Thank you to every guest who came on with us this year. Thank you to everyone who followed us on various social media, or took the time to drop an email or comment on our blog. All the great discussion, laughs, and plain old camaraderie were very much appreciated. Thank you to all the convention promoters who extended us courtesies.

And last, but never ever least, an extra special thanks to our sponsor, GRAHAM CRACKERS COMICS, for eternally being the best damn sponsor around! What's up, John?!

We hope your holidays have been fantastic so far, and here's to an awesome 2012!

-DWiGHT, SWAiN & ADRiAN (The Three Amigos)

 

Podcast Episode 170 :: Shine On — KYLE BAKER

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Hello, 'Nation. Swain and Adrian here. The two of us have a saying that we use around these parts. It goes like this — lay off the hyperbole! Say it from the gut and with meaning, or don't say it at all. And don't get us wrong. Hyperbole has its place in this world. But you just don't wanna reside there, ya know?

That said, here goes. Harvey Kurtzman. Mort Drucker. Don Martin. Sergio Aragones. Jack Davis. These men are considered cartooning gods. And if you're of a certain age, you know that all of them wrote and drew pictures for MAD magazine. MAD was co-founded in 1952 by William Gaines and the aforementioned Mr. Kurtzman as a humor anthology, and continues to be published to this day.

The work that these gentlemen did for MAD (some of them for almost five decades) was beyond remarkable. It redefined what cartooning was to become for later generations with its outrageous parodies and lampooning of pop culture.

So, with that kind of preamble, is it hyperbole to say that we see Kyle Baker in a similar light? Not completely. If you look at the breadth of his work on a practical level, Kyle is clearly working in their same tradition of "cartoonist". He writes, draws, colors, letters, and does the design work for most of his projects. He's an auteur.

Baker as a writer is a humorist/satirist at heart — again, just like his MAD predecessors. His gags are always clever, caustic, and clear. They can range from family-friendly slices of life to sharp observations of the sexes. And his dialoguing is some of the most natural that you'll find in comics.

Without question, the humor and attitude in Baker's stuff reflects the city from which he hails: New York. New York has been the backdrop for many of his stories, most especially, the one that made us die-hard fans — Why I Hate Saturn.

First published in 1990 by Piranha Press, Saturn is a smart, funny, and by most accounts, accurate representation of urban single life in the late '80s/early '90s. It's an early example of a non-comic book publisher, in this case, Doubleday, seeing a comic book story as a viable publishing option.

Putting Saturn in perspective — right smack dab in the middle of mutant fever and "gimmick" covers — comes this long form graphic novel about a neurotic writer, her platonic friendship with a bar-hopping guy pal, and sibling rivalry. All with little-to-no action. And it is hilarious! We highly recommend this book if you haven't read it.

Why I Hate Saturn, sadly, has never been a huge hit. And it's perhaps indicative of Kyle's status in the comics industry — critically lauded by dedicated fans and peers for his inventiveness, craftsmanship, and humor, yet mainstream readers at large have never responded in droves (or dollars) to his projects.

However, should the uninitiated wise up and seek out works by Kyle, there are plenty that we think deserve your attention: The Cowboy Wally Show, The Shadow with writer Andy Helfer, Dick Tracy, You Are Here, Plastic Man, Nat Turner, I Die at Midnight, his Hawkman tale in Wednesday Comics, and all of his self-published collections like Cartoonist and The Bakers.

After his Wednesday Comics gig ended, Kyle got a call from Marvel to work on Deadpool: MAX. That's pretty much where he's been comics-wise for the last two years. We both admit that his MAX stuff is not our favorite stuff by him (by any stretch), but it's still great to see him on something regular.

And again, we don't mean to be sacrilegious in comparing Baker to the giants listed above. Kurtzman and company are all esteemed quite highly by fans and critics alike, and deservedly so. However, what they all share in common is the distinction of being creators of timeless quality and perpetual verve. A Kyle Baker book will absolutely never fail to entertain. And that's the TRUTH (pun intended).

There's much more to Kyle than we're laying out here — trust. We're just trying not to give too much away in this blog post. The two of us have been champing at the bit to give Baker some shine on these mics, so this one was a long time coming.

Hope you enjoy the exchange. We damn sure did.

- SWAiN & ADRiAN

**Our thanks to Eric Nolen-Weathington of TwoMorrows Publishing for doing a terrific interview with Kyle as part of their Modern Masters series. That issue (along with Comics Journal # 219) was an invaluable resource to us in our prep for this episode.

We also wanna thank Seth Kushner of Graphic NYC for letting us use that sweet shot of Baker he took for their article. GNYC is an awesome site with tons of great interviews featuring many of your favorite comic book creators (Brian Azzarello, Frank Miller, Chris Claremont).

Podcast Episode 169 :: Monsters as Heroes (A Very Special Halloween-Themed SiDEBAR)

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Pixie, kobold, elf, and sprite,
All are on their rounds tonight;
In the wan moon's silver ray,
Thrives their helter-skelter play.
- Joel Benton

Okay, now that's hot!

With Halloween creeping up on us (no pun), we thought it was high time we did an episode celebrating the scary. And why not go the route of scary comic book characters, yeah? Comics going back to the 1950s have always featured "tales of terror", and that tradition continues on to this day.

The '70s being what they were for horror films seemed like a good place to start. Movies like The Omen, Jaws, The Exorcist, Carrie, Amityville Horror, Willard, Audrey Rose and others, set that period apart as "the" decade of horror. So, many of the characters/heroes we dug up for this roundtable (no pun) were birthed around that same time.

Our theme is Monsters as Heroes. Creepy, weird, and just plain awful-looking folks who, at their core, are heroic. They wanna do the right thing — often times they do do the right thing — but damn if they don't frighten the sh*t out of people! And their actions can sometimes end with grave results (no pun).

We hit all the main ones you can think of, and threw a few surprises in there, too. The images we've showcased with this blog post will offer a few clues as to who made the final cut (no pun).

It's a FEAR FRAUGHT FRANTIC EPISODE!!!

-SWAiN

**Above are Vampirella by Boris Vallejo and The Demon by Jason Latour. A brief digression: Vampy with the one boot off is killer sexy to me. I have NO idea why (yes I do).

Below we've got Man-Thing by Art Adams (left) and Mystique by Mike Mayhew (right).

And finally, Ghost Rider by Paolo Rivera (left) and Swamp Thing by Simon Bizley (right).

On this episode, we played portions of Michael Jackson's "Thriller", "People Are Strange" by The Doors, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's "Nightmare on My Street", and "Devil Woman" by Cliff Richards.

Podcast Episode 168 :: Survival of the Artist

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A poor play on Charles Darwin's Natural Selection, but hey — it sounded better than all the other stuff we came up with (ha).

The impetus of this episode was the mystery as to why some of our favorite comic artists aren't doing more work. Why aren't they more visible in the marketplace from month to month? Well, we attempt to answer that question on this one.

Surviving (and succeeding) in the world of comics is probably just as challenging as it is in any other industry. Not unlike other fields, I'm sure it comes down to a few simple rules — show up, create and foster good relationships, do great work, and finish the job — on time.

The rules above are universal in most trades, but from where we sit, they're not always universally applied within comics.

For example, if you're popular in comics, all can be forgiven pretty quickly if you miss a deadline. Editors and fans have certainly been known to turn their heads when "superstars" are late.

What if you're good at your job, but can't strike a solid rapport with those that will hire you? You can end up out of sight and out of mind.

Here's another one. What if you're an older artist with a style that's seen as "old school"? It can probably be a struggle to get assignments. Ageism exists everywhere (sadly).

And last, what about the possibilities of embracing an all-digital workflow to meet the demand by companies for quicker turnarounds of production? The needs of the business beckon.

Opinions and theories abound on this one, 'Nation. And with the comic book industry evolving in nearly every other facet in terms of production, now more than ever is a good time to discuss the challenges of maintaining a fruitful comics career in the 21st Century.

- SWAiN & ADRiAN

Podcast Episode 167 :: Review of STERLING HUNDLEY'S Blue Collar / White Collar

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The return of the B-side — short, but very sweet.

We here at the 'Bar were fans of illustrator and fine artist, Sterling Hundley, long before he appeared on these esteemed microphones back in 2009. He was one of the guys we knew we wanted to talk to. And he was quite the astute guest. Knowledge by the pound was dropped that day.

So, guess what? His new art book, Blue Collar/White Collar, will be available everywhere on November 15th from Adhouse Books. We got our grubby mitts on an advanced review copy — and it is wonderful! A gorgeous collection of images that thoroughly covers his illustration career as well as some of his recent fine art pieces. And presented with some very special touches to reflect the artist's taste and sensibilities.

Dwight and I definitely give this one the big thumbs up. Blue Collar/White Collar is worthy of your time, and your dollars. To paraphrase Dwight on the episode, "It's a much needed addition to any art lover's collection".

- SWAiN

**It's just dos amigos on this episode. Adrian was away on assignment in New Genesis.

Podcast Episode 166: Comic Shop Confidential

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The comic shop. The LCS. The funny book store.

That last one was what my grandmother and aunts used to call my favorite hangout spot when I was growing up in Chicago. I hated it. Superheroes weren't funny to me. Dudes got socked in the eye! People got killed (Gwen Stacy, Bucky, Captain Marvel)!

Anyway, I'm over it now. And I still got love for my brick and mortar stores. So, welcome to Comic Shop Confidential.

Dwight, Adrian and myself recently sat down for a celebration of the venerable brick and mortars. Specifically our collective experiences here in the Atlanta area over the last three decades. And even though we reference names and places that you all don't know, chances are the experiences are universal. We all come from the same place, right?

We hope you enjoy listening in and don't get too bored. While the battle between digital vs. print rages on, it was nice to pay simple tribute to the guys and gals who've been holding it down for the last 25 years. Salute!

- SWAiN

**This episode is dedicated to Graham Crackers Comics — our official sponsor and the largest chain of comic shops IN THE COUNTRY.

 

Podcast Episode 165: Run for Your Life (pick a run in comics...and go!)

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Finally, a fangirl has crashed the clubhouse! I’m Erika Peterman, co-founder of Girls-Gone-Geek.com, and the woman behind the high-pitched voice you’ll hear on this lively episode.

Long before I officially met Dwight, Swain and Adrian, a mutual friend suggested I check out the Sidebar podcast. At the time, I was sampling a truckload of comics-related podcasts for education as much as entertainment, and frankly, only a handful held my interest. But when I heard these guys, I was not only impressed by their depth of knowledge but also struck by how much fun they were having. I instantly felt like I knew them, and I was kinda mad that I wasn’t in the room. It was a bit like eavesdropping on the cool kids’ conversation in the cafeteria and desperately wanting to join in. 

So when they invited me to be part of the “Run for Your Life” installment during Dragon*Con, I was thrilled — and a little nervous. I mean,these three really know what they're talking about, and I didn't want to come off like a seventh-grader among Ph.D. candidates. However, recording this episode turned out to be one of the highlights of my weekend. It was just as much fun as I'd imagined when I discovered Sidebar a year ago. 

Our task was to discuss a series whose run we enjoyed from beginning to end. My pick was Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly's New York Four/NewYork Five miniseries, an absorbing story about a group of young women in their freshman year at NYU. Wood's writing and Kelly's art are so perfect for each other, which makes for a deeply satisfying read. When people ask me for suggestions of good comics, this is always near the top of the list.

The others chose books I never would have considered but am now eager to read. I only knew Micronauts as old-school action figures, but Dwight totally sold it as a complex, exciting series that still holds up. Who knew that a toy could inspire a comic that touches on heavy-duty topics like genetic engineering? Next, Swain put the spotlight on Dave McKean's Cages, a graphic novel with hauntingly beautiful illustrations. The book's themes of creativity and inspiration are very close to home. Finally, Adrian convinced me that I need to get up on some Jack Kirby, immediately. That's a real gap in my education, and Adrian's passionate commentary on Kirby's classic New Gods epic was mighty compelling — as was the eye-popping art. 

I hope you enjoy listening to this installment as much as I enjoyed being part of it. And many thanks to my brothers in geek for inviting me to share the Sidebar microphones!

**The New Gods image used here is the one Adrian references in the conversation. It's Jack Kirby's original drawing with Alex Ross' painting on top of it.

Podcast Episode 157: PRINCE Trivia Cage Match ft. BROHAWK and JASON PALMER

 
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Pretty much says it all, right? I don't even have 2 sell this sh*t, 'cause this sh*t sells itself!

Die-hard Prince fans, David 'Brohawk' Williams and Jason Palmer, both agreed 2 come on the show around the same time and chat about art and career. Die-hard Prince fan and podcaster, Swain, said "Hey, while U all R here, let's get our purple on!" And it was on!

Seriously, one of the best times I've ever had doing this show. I've loved Prince's music since I was fifteen, and 2 find 2 dudes who share that love with an equal amount of enthusiasm, was the coolest.

Dwight and Adrian were sitting in awe as me, J and Brohawk geeked out over the man from Minneapolis. I don't think they suspected how deep it was gonna go though. Pretty f*ckin' deep!

And the best part about it was they had mad fun watching Jason and David willfully follow me N2 purple madness.

Hope U dig this 1, folks! I did!

- SWAiN O(+->

Podcast Episode 155: A Discussion on the Life, Art and Recent Passing of JEFFREY CATHERINE JONES (1944 - 2011)

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"The artist does not see things as they are, but as he or she is." - Alfred Tonnelle

Since hearing the news that Jeffrey Catherine Jones passed away yesterday (May 19, 2011), I keep coming back to one thing — I'll never again be able to refer to her as "my favorite living painter". That's a change I never thought I'd have to make. A simple one, but still tough.

I will miss Jeffrey greatly. Her life's work awakened something wonderous in me many years ago, and I owe her a debt of gratitude.

Marvin Gaye said, and I'm paraphrasing the hell out of it, "If one is a true artist, their singular goal is to open the minds of men and women". With Jeff, we've most certainly witnessed the passing of a true artist.

That's all I got for now, I guess. The real stuff is in the show. And trust when I say Dwight's story is the one. Listen for that! I envy him for having that brief, but moving exchange with Jones. And at the same time, since it happened to my man, I get to share in it, too. So really, I'm good.

Bye, Jeff. Sleep peacefully, rest easy...

- SWAiN

**I chose the picture above because it was featured in The Studio book by Dragon's Dream, and it made me wanna be that smooth, bohemian, artist type. Ha!

The 2004 Sequential Tart interview with Jeffrey Catherine Jones conducted by Laurie J. Anderson.

Hazy Shade of Winter written by Paul Simon

Time, time, time, see what's become of me
While I looked around
For my possibilities
I was so hard to please
But look around, leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Hear the Salvation Army Band
Down by the riverside, it's bound to be a better ride
Than what you've got planned
Carry your cup in your hand
And look around, leaves are brown now
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Hang on to your hopes, my friend
That's an easy thing to say, but if your hopes should pass away
Simply pretend
That you can build them again
Look around, the grass is high
The fields are ripe, it's the springtime of my life

Ahhh, seasons change with the scenery
Weaving time in a tapestry
Won't you stop and remember me

But look around, leaves are brown now
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Look around, leaves are brown
There's a patch of snow on the ground...

Podcast Episode 153: Roundtable Free-for-All (TV, Movies and Random Art Talk)

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With the veritable glut of action-packed comic book movies waiting to assault our senses this summer, we took a breather from interviews and decided to chat about a few of 'em. Along with some TV and art talk, too. Gotta get some art talk in there, right?

On the television front, the focus was mainly on the new Wonder Woman show being written and produced by David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal, Boston Legal). He cast a fairly unknown, Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights), as Diana Prince, and here recently, the studio released some production stills of her in the new costume.

Was. Not. Good.

The geek community blew a 'nerd gasket' when they saw them. And from the looks of of the latest batch of shots, the suits acquiesced and changed the design. Smart move, suits!

On the chopping block for films was Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, Captain America: The First Avenger starring Chris Evans and Tommy Lee Jones, X-Men: First Class starring James McAvoy, and Thor starring Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman.

We had a little bit more to go on with these four properties. The trailers have all, for the most part, been pretty outstanding. Hopes are definitely high. Granted, a trailer is a big-budget commercial to get butts in seats, so the studios could still be fooling our asses (uh-oh, I made a funny). We'll see.

And we ended things by giving shine to some of our favorite and more recent 'art makers'. Guys and gals we've been checking for who can hold a pencil, brush or stylus — well.

Lots of names came up in this segment that you've never heard mentioned on this show before — Barbara Canepa, Nathan Fowkes and Greg Tocchini, just to name a few.

As to digressions: The Cape, Chris Benoit, Andy Kaufman got slammed, Fringe, the cancellation of Sym-Bionic Titan (Dwight: "Damn you, Cartoon Network!"), Superman II, The Little Rascals, Natalie Portman's tookus (that means booty), Watchmen, Sucker Punch, Deadlock, Terrance Stamp and Anthony Hopkins are 'who-errs', The Last Dragon and Action Jackson, Vanity, Bane, Buster Douglas and the impending wackness that is likely to be the Spider-man reboot.

More great interviews to come, folks, but thanks for checking out the roundtable.

- SWAiN

Podcast Special: Remembering Writer and TV Producer DWAYNE MCDUFFIE (1962 - 2011)

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The fellas and I were as crestfallen as you guys all were at the news of the recent passing of Dwayne McDuffie (February 21, 2011). Not two days prior, I was checking out his post on Facebook concerning the early reviews for the new All-Star Superman DVD. Dwayne wrote the script for the movie and I remember thinking, "That's my man promoting his stuff. Cool beans."

Then suddenly, he was gone.

After much vacillation, we decided to do a short episode to honor Dwayne. None of us here at SiDEBAR knew him personally, so all of our recollections and stories are from our perspective as fans of his work.

A special thanks though to our buddy, storyboard artist Warren Drummond, for sitting in on this one. He did know Dwayne in passing as a friend and a peer, going back to their New York days.

Warren also attended an event Wednesday night at Golden Apple Comics in L.A. that included a heartfelt memorial by many of McDuffie's longtime pals. Warren shares some of that night with us in the conversation.

There's plenty out there on the Interwebs about Dwayne's career, so we won't inundate you with more here. However, we will say that if you've never read any of the man's comics, go pick some up. He was a storyteller to his core and as Adrian points out in our talk, he lives on through the work.

And hey, if you've never seen an episode of Static Shock or Justice League Unlimited — kick yourself in the ass! That's unforgivable! JLU was brilliant, Static was great fun too, and a healthy portion of the credit for those shows should go to Dwayne McDuffie as a writer, producer and story editor.

A beloved figure like this is already missed, folks. Certainly by his family and friends, but also by a legion of dedicated fans and readers. Our condolences go out to all.

- SWAiN

Pic above drawn by Denys Cowan.

The All-Star Superman DVD was released on February 21st, sadly, the day Dwayne passed away. It's an adaptation of a 12 issue DC Comics series by the same name — originally done by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.

Dwayne handled scripting chores for the film version and did a bang-up job, too!

Podcast Episode 148: Bookshelf Babble-On

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As 2011 was looming last year, we started thinking about new ideas for the podcast. We came up with a few keepers, but we also resuscitated some kick ass classic ones and plan to bring them back better than ever. More on that later.

Today though, it's the first in our Bookshelf Babble-On series. Nothing too deep (hey, this is SiDEBAR, right?). Just us grabbing a few things off the shelf that we like and talking about them. That's it.

Dwight, Adrian and myself have many, many things in common as far as our tastes go, but we diverge in a lotta places, too — which is a good thing.

The goal with Babble-On was to pick a book that some people might not know about and bring it to the fore. You know, open up a can-o-worms and see what slithers out!

The rules were no rules. It could be anything — a collected trade paperback, an original graphic novel, an illustrated novel, a novel, a children's book, an artbook, a book about comics or nerd culture — what have you.

Of course, we end up down a few rabbit trails, but again, this is SiDEBAR, where digressions abound (ha).

Our chosen Babble-ees, if you will, are COME ON, RAIN! by Karen Hesse and Jon J. Muth, SLAINE THE KING by Pat Mills and Mike McMahon, and Yoji Shinkawa's THE ART OF METAL GEAR SOLID. We got a little versatility goin' on today, kids.

Hope you have fun listening to us run our mouths. And thanks for stopping by again and clicking the little download thingy.

- SWAiN

**This episode of SiDEBAR is powered by THRILLPOWER!

   


 

Podcast Episode 141: The Art of Storytelling (it's like that now)

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That's correct! On the further adventures of the SiDEBAR roundtable, we discuss the use of storytelling in comics and illustration. What is it? Who does it well? What separates strong storytelling from style, conceptual thinking or someone who's simply into render porn? These and many other questions go completely unanswered on this episode!

We also brought along a willing accomplice today to help us figure it all out—our good buddy, Braxton Harrison. Braxton is a terrific artist himself, a local guy and no stranger to the podcast community.

His name (and voice) would pop up all the time on Around Comics and he was on a show of his own for a while. It was called the League of Nobodies and it was him, our buddy Brion Salazar from Fanboy Legion, our other buddy Skottie Young, artist from The Wizard of Oz and Matt Burden, who's now co-hosting the Matinee Idles podcast.

We wanna thank Brax for rollin' up and hangin' with us. It's like a 50 minute drive from his place to mine. And thanks to you all too for listening in. We know it's not another creator intervew, but hey, we're havin' some fun.

- SWAIN

**On this episode, we played snippets of Outkast's Da Art of Storytellin' (much love to Suzy Skrew and Sasha Thumper).

Also, there's a rather bawdy Easter egg at the end of this one that was inspired by a post I read on Girls Gone Geek. The ladies don't hold back either... 

Podcast Episode 139: Dragon*Con 2010 - The Recap

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All twenty three minutes of it! Today, it's just a short conversation covering some of the memorable moments at this year's Dragon*Con. We had a wonderful time, as always, and 2010 definitely had its highlights.

Many thanks to all the listeners who stopped by to say hello, to all the convention guests who did likewise and wished us well, to all the kind folks who jumped on the mic with us, and to the Sensei, Brian Stelfreeze, for putting it down as only he can.

Extra special thanks to John Picacio and Jim Keefe for their support and gifts.

And a hearty thank you to the guys and gals who run the Con and the Comics Track—Pat and Sherry Henry and Thom Trainor. We appreciate their generosity and look forward to next year. Bigger and deffer!

**Swain would like it known that the picture above and the last minute of this episode made the entire weekend worth it for him.

Podcast Episode 134: Free Pass

 

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Swain here. Me and Adrian started chatting after seeing Neal Adams' Batman Odyssey #1 (he saw it, I still haven't) and the idea of free passes came up.

A free pass is when someone, doesn't matter who, gets a pass for what is basically sub par work for them, and you won't call it for what it is. Many a Neal fan were on-line doing just that when Odyssey's preview pages were posted—looking at his current work through Green Lantern/Green Arrow tinted glasses (even though it ain't 1970 anymore).

Don't get me wrong. I give out free passes from time to time myself. I think we all do on some level. But calling something crap doesn't...well...crap all over the great stuff that person did or will do, does it?

Most people who know me know I'm a big music nerd as well as an art nerd. I adore Elton John, Prince, Peter Gabriel and Stevie Wonder. One of my favorite bands to come out in the last 13 years is a Scottish band called Travis.

That said, all the stuff Elton's written for Disney has been utter wackness. Prince—I've not liked much since the symbol album. Peter Gabriel's Up CD was so God awful that I sold it two weeks later (didn't want it in my house and I adore him). Stevie's lowest had to be I Just Called to Say I Love You and Travis' 12 Memories disc gave me amnesia.

I still love them all for their past work, but give 'em a pass for the nonsense they're doing today.

Bringing it back to comics, it doesn't take any of the greatness away from Frank Miller's Dark Knight, Born Again or Batman Year One to say Dark Knight Strikes Again and The Spirit sucked. And they did. 

The conversation between Dwight, Adrian and I also veered off into free passes for comics coming out late as hell, outrageous original art prices, lack of professionalism and common courtesy. We went there.

So many fans will look the other way if it's their favorite guy or gal and act like they're not being mistreated—when they really are. That's bullsh*t.

Listen in and see what you think. Our goal wasn't to dump on folks just for the sake of dumping. It was to encourage us as fans to be more honest. If it's great, hey, let's celebrate it. If it's just okay or bad...let's call it for what it is.

**If you're squeamish or easily pissed off, we must warn you—this audio is disturbing. Names have not been changed to protect the innocent (ha).

Check for the Jack Kirby birthday Easter egg at the very end. That was fun.

And Dwight would like it on the record that he dug Kneel...ummm, Neal's cover for Batman Odyssey #1.

Ep. 84: Weighing In on Watchmen (The Original Comic Series)

It was bound to happen. The film is mere days away and we decided to sit down and chop up Moore and Gibbons' landmark series in the best way we knew how—by bringin' in some help!

We took it back to Titan Games & Comics, since we had so much fun there the last time, and joining us in the 'round:

Adrian J. aka Inazuma Tiger, a friend and up-and-coming artist who frequently posts on our message board. He was with us the first time we hung out at Titans.

Christian Sager, a local comic writer we've gotten to know over the last year. Sager has two creator-owned properties he's currently launching: Border Crossings and Partial Invasive. You can take a look at the former here.

And finally, Titans Store Manager and passionate comics fan, Mike Loewnau. I've known Mike for several years and figured he'd bring up some awesome points about the series (he did). Plus, he kindly let us crash his place again, so many thanks to him!

Actually, we wanna thank all three of these fellas for jumpin' in the fray with us and offering up their opinions. They rocked it!

**For this special Watchmen episode, we played snippets of Smashing Pumpkins' The End is the Beginning is the End.

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 82: Listener Call-In Show

A month or so ago, we took a page out of the CGS playbook and set up a call-in event for listeners and forum members. It turned out awesome and we got to hear from many of the "voices" on our msg board for the very first time.

Also, a few people who regularly check out the show that we've never heard from, hit us up as well. It was the coolest!

We're gonna try and do it at least twice a year, but for this first attempt, we wanna say thanks to everyone who gave us a shout—Mpol, lightbombmike, Jake Ekiss, MarkCalifornia, Chuck, Charlie, Steve E. Wonders, Inazuma Tiger, ChrisCandide and Musashi! 'Preciate you all much!

**For this episode, we played several snippets of music randomly and for your pleasure: "Request Line" by Rock Master Scott & The Dynamic Three, "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode, "Pick It Up" by Poison Clan and "Hello" by Lionel Ritchie.

Also, big apologies for being so late getting this out. Life reared its ugly head...

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Ep. 80: Clash At The Titan!

Forum member and friend, Inazuma Tiger (a.k.a. Adrian), is an Atlanta resident like us and Dwight and I hit him up to join us for a little roundtable chit-chat. He used to work for a local comic shop called The Comic Company and many of the geeks in our circle used to frequent that fine establishment. It was a fun place and Dick Schwartz, the man who owned and operated it, was a good guy. Dick has since retired, closed Comic Company, and somehow, someway we ran into Adrian several years later—on our msg board! How's that for serendipity!

So who knows? Maybe the whole comic shop connection explains why the three of us ended up meeting at Titan Games & Comics in Duluth, which is north of the city. I've been a Titan customer since I was sixteen, have a pretty good rapport with all the managers (Chuck and Mike especially) and gave 'em a call to see what the haps. Beth was there that day, said no problemo, as long as she could be out the door by 7PM. We said cool and it was on!

Our conversation took place right by the front door of the store, but surprisingly, it wasn't that noisy. Eric was there too helping Beth run things, and he and she both jump in from time to time.

We nerded out for about 90 minutes that night and had an awesome time doing it! Many thanks to Beth and Eric for graciously allowing us to hang out. Titan is great and if you're ever in their neck of the woods—spend lots of money!

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Ep. 72: The Incredible Shrinking Medium

OK, obnoxious title aside, this is another roundtable talk Dwight and I had about the size of the comic book buying audience.  The nickname was birthed out of a few discussions we had over the course of a week and when we got together, we just turned the recorder on and continued.

Of course, it's not literally shrinking (is it?).  But the idea being younger readers and just plain old new readers are needed to breathe some life into "this thing of ours".  The median age for the average person reading comics keeps going up and getting more decrepit—and that ain't good!  In order for things to stay interesting and relevant, we need new eyeballs and fresh ideas. Not the same gimmicks and events.

What can the publishers do?  What can fans do?  What can anyone do to address the problem?  This subject has, of course, been discussed in other places, by people more informed than we are, but we thought we'd weigh in on it too.  You won't find any real answers here (whaaat?), but it sure as hell was fun to chat about!

**For this episode, we played a snippet of The Red Hot Chili Peppers' "My Friends"—because that's what you are (smile).

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Ep. 58: The Roundtable Returns (It's a show about nothing—and everything!)

When we started SiDEBAR back in 2007, it was just me and Dwight sitting around talking...together...no guests. Somewhere along the way we got some convention interviews, then a couple of really great local artists and friends came on with us, Dexter Vines and Brian Stelfreeze. We've known both of 'em a good while and they were mad cool to holler at us.

Finally, we ended up on the doorstep of one Mr. Shane Glines, another awfully nice and talented individual. He was our very first phone interview and we've pretty much been on the phone ever since.

Well, as life often dictates, there are times when you need to go back to basics. Back to the neighborhood. We've always wanted the show to be a clubhouse for us and listeners and guests to hang out and talk comics, art, TV, movies, big boy books, whatever. So here we go...

This was a conversation we recorded at Dwight's crib and it begins with some painter talk, goes into a short commentary on the new Hulk movie and Wanted (Dwight had just seen both—on the same day), and kinda ends up with me trashing the last three Star Wars movies. As you'll hear, I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan in the world and he absolutely is. It's all fairly innocent and hopefully entertaining, so try not to be bored to tears (I said try).

And fear not, 'Nation—more interviews to come!

**On this episode, we played snippets of two songs: The Producers' Back to Basics and I Against I by Massive Attack ft. Mos Def.

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Ep. 3: "This is...Sparta!" - A Review of 300

Minutes after seeing the big screen adaptation of 300, we sit down in front of the esteemed SiDEBAR mics and chop it up. This is a special b-side edition of the show.

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Ep. 2: Favorite Things

On this episode, the lyrics of the old jazz standard ring true...these are some of our favorite things! Something old, something new, something art and something music are the areas covered as we attempt to wax poetic on what we're checking for. Swain declares it The Year of the Bru while Dwight is caught up in the Virgin invasion. Plus, an unfortunate massive attack on one sensitive singer-songwriter.

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Ep. 1: The Inaugural

On our very first show, we look ahead into 2007 and it's all about comics, art, movies and television. From Superman to The Sopranos, to Heroes and the dreaded Marko, we cover much of the mainstream and counter culture spectrums in no time at all.

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