Between The Gutters Podcast

After an unplanned bye week, we're back with the first episode of our 2024 readthrough! In 2021, we read through Invincible. In 2022, we read through Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. Last year, we read through Deadly Class. This year, we're reading through DC Comics' Solo! Once a month, we're dedicating one of our episodes to an issue of Solo, which lasted twelve issues. First up, we're discussing issue one, which was Tim Sale's issue. Join us as we provide a general overview of Solo as a series and then discuss Tim Sale's broader work in comics. After that, we take a look at every story in Solo #1. There's also a brief but very special interview audio included in this episode: Back in 2019, Albert met Tim Sale at a convention and asked him a few questions. Timestamps: 33:25 - Albert's brief interview with Tim Sale 35:53 - Solo #1 Discussion If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betwee

We're back with a discussion about another recently published Image Comics book, Immortal Sergeant by Joe Kelly + Ken Niimura! It's the newest collaboration from the duo that brought us the legendary I Kill Giants. Immortal Sergeant is about the dysfunctional relationship between a grizzled, old-school, bigoted detective and his adult, socially liberal son. The two of them are forced to spend an inordinate amount of time together when the detective catches a break on the murder case that's haunted him for decades. Immortal Sergeant functions much like a companion piece to I Kill Giants, which focused on the relationship between a mother and daughter. Kelly + Niimura have put together another immaculately crafted comic that's worthy of our time and analysis. If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out a

It was released in English a little over a year ago, but we've finally gotten around to reading Shuna's Journey by Hayao Miyazaki, a gem that was originally published in 1983. It's not a long read, but it's absolutely gripping and worth your time and contemplation. If you're a fan of Miyazaki's films, then Shuna's Journey will certainly be of major interest. It's kinda decent timing, by our standards, to talk about Shuna's Journey because Miyazaki's been back in the public discourse. As you probably know, his latest film, The Boy and the Heron, was recently released in U.S. theaters, and may still be playing at the time this episode drops (check your local listings). (They should have kept the original title of How Do You Live?, though.) If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on v

Happy New Year! For our first episode of 2024, we decided to read and talk about a new series from 2023: W0rldtr33 by James Tynion IV, Fernando Blanco, Jordie Bellaire, Aditya Bidikar, and Dylan Todd (edited by Steve Foxe). This science fiction horror story is by one of the biggest writers in comics at this particular moment. We haven't really talked about any Tiny Onion books on our podcast before, so we figured we'd try to get with the times. In this episode, we discuss W0rldtr33 volume 1, which collects the first five issues of the series. Have you read it? Have you read many other Tiny Onion comics? What do you think? If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats

As 2023 comes to an end, we decided to read and discuss a comic that's also about an ending, of sorts. Namor the Sub-Mariner: Conquered Shores by Christopher Cantwell, Pasqual Ferry, Matt Hollingsworth, and Joe Caramagna is a "The End"-type of story for Namor, one of Albert's most beloved superhero characters. Conquered Shores takes place in a far future after the Earth has endured massive trauma, which results in Atlantis becoming the dominant superpower as the planet is engulfed by the seas and melted ice caps. The superhero population has diminished, and Namor is one of the last remaining few with any agency. What choices will he make in this new world? Join us for our discussion of this five-issue miniseries! If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here:

Twelve months, twelve volumes. We have finally completed our coverage of Deadly Class by Rick Remender and Wes Craig! As we have been doing throughout 2023, in this episode we provide our usual issue-by-issue synopses and commentary of the last trade paperback collection of the series, which contains issues 53-56. We also discuss our overall thoughts and feelings about the series as a whole. This has been our #Remendyear and what more fitting way to finish it off than with a long conversation about the end of Deadly Class? If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters Check our Linktree for a handy Spotify playlist containing all of our Deadly Class episodes! Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats

This week, we're continuing our top 25 DC comics countdown. We have Sleeper, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, at number 23 on our list! Nowadays, Brubaker and Phillips are household names for their creator-owned crime comics. Let's go back in time and take a look at this early work from the pair! Sleeper is a super powered espionage neo-noir thriller that contains a whole lot of tension and suspense. A creeping sense of dread permeates the narrative. It's also got a lot of heavy emotional, psychological, and thematic material that gives it that added element of depth. Here are some of the other episodes we've done in which we've featured these creators: Episode 6: Criminal Episode 8: Captain America Episode 20: Scene of the Crime Episode 155: Wildcats Episode 192: Gotham Central Like we did for our Marvel top 25 list, we applied a set of criteria and scored all the DC books we've read to create our list. Our criteria are as follows: CRAFT. Is the comic technically sound? Is it well-written? Is it well-ill

We're getting very close to the end of our readthrough of Deadly Class by Rick Remender and Wes Craig. This month, we're covering volume 11, which is comprised of issues 49-52. Join us as we provide our issue-by-issue recaps and commentary! If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters Check our Linktree for a handy Spotify playlist containing all of our Deadly Class episodes! Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats

We return from our bye week with our autopsy on The Marvels, the latest MCU flick! We've all heard the noise around this one. It's been a polarizing movie, especially if you spend time in online spaces. There's also the box office stats, which led to even more chatter. We're not too interested in the movie's financial success (or lack thereof). We're here to talk about the movie itself. Join us as we dissect this movie in another one of our patented autopsies! Some timestamps for y'all: 0:00:00 - Our intro discussion is about Albert's recent travels. 37:50:00 - The Marvels autopsy begins (spoiler-free) 1:03:40 - Full spoilers begin If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters Check our Linktree for a handy Spotify playlist of all of our Marvel Cinematic Universe autopsy episodes! Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on va

We're continuing our countdown of the top 25 DC comics of all time! Coming in at number 24 on our list, we've got Sandman Mystery Theatre by Matt Wagner, Steven T. Seagle, and Guy Davis! This mature-readers crime noir series set in the late 1930s is a grounded and realistic reimagining of a classic Golden Age superhero. It's more than just a gritty remix of an old character, though. This is a series that has it all: intriguing plots, complex and well-developed characters who grow and change, one of the most beautiful romances in all of comics, and compelling social commentary. Tune in and find out why SMT is one of the best things DC Comics has ever published! We previously discussed Steven T. Seagle in one of our honorable mentions - in episode 132 we covered It's a Bird... We forgot to mention it during our recording, but Guy Davis had a book on our Marvel top 25 list, too. We talked about Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules way, way back in episode 8. Like we did for our Marvel top 25 list, we applied a

This week, we're covering Deadly Class volume 10: Save Your Generation! This volume collects issues 45-48 of the series by Rick Remender and Wes Craig! As usual, we're providing recaps and commentary for each issue as we talk through the entire series, one volume per month. If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats

At long last, we're here! When we began our podcast back in the halcyon days of 2017, we started with a series of episodes counting down the top 25 Marvel comics of all time. Eventually, we finished that list and made plans to do a top 25 DC comics list. In the past couple years, we've teased and tantalized with a few honorable mentions (and dishonorable mentions), but now it is time to begin the countdown proper in earnest! Long have we waited! This is not a dream, not a hoax, not an imaginary story! We are starting our top 25 DC comics countdown! In this episode, we provide a refresher regarding our criteria and thought processes behind our list, and we unveil #25: Gotham Central by Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, Michael Lark, and their pals! Join us for an invigorating discussion about why Gotham Central is one of our picks for one of the top 25 DC comics of all time! Don't expect the countdown to take over the feed entirely, as we have many other intriguing comics on our upcoming podcast schedule. However, we

Continuing what seems to be an unintentional trend on our podcast, we're here to discuss yet another science fiction comic. This week, we're talking about Decorum, by Jonathan Hickman and Mike Huddleston! This is a story about the most well-mannered assassin in the known universe. Beyond that, we initially struggled to figure out what this comic was really about. However, throughout the course of our conversation in this episode, we eventually wrestled through the text and came to a general understanding of it. (We think.) If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats

Far Sector, written by acclaimed novelist N.K. Jemisin with art by the skillful Jamal Campbell, is undoubtedly one of the best Green Lantern tales in recent memory. It's a science fiction story about Sojourner "Jo" Mullein, a new Green Lantern, protecting the City Enduring, a massive city-planet of 20 billion people comprised of three distinct races. For the first time in 500 years, there's a murder, and it's up to Jo to solve the crime. If you enjoy intelligent science fiction in your cape comics, you owe it to yourself to check out Far Sector! Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters

In this episode, we're discussing one of Panel Syndicate's most famous publications: Barrier, by Brian K. Vaughan, Marcos Martín, and Muntsa Vicente! Someone once said that science fiction is social fiction. Barrier is a science fiction story about an alien abduction, but it has a great deal to say about today's social climate. Though it originally came out a few years ago, it feels just as relevant as ever. Barrier's got something to say, and it's elevated by its craftsmanship and experimental nature. You can check it out at panelsyndicate.com and then listen to our discussion! Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters

We're back from our bye week with the next installment of our readthrough of Deadly Class! The ninth volume, entitled Bone Machine, comprises issues 40-44 of the series. As usual, we provide issue-by-issue commentary of the comic as we analyze, interpret, and discuss it. In our intro conversation, Albert shares about his recent vacation to New England and the east coast and talks about some of the comic book stores he managed to visit while he was out there. Our Deadly Class discussion begins at around the 37:50 mark. Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters

Madi: Once Upon a Time in the Future is an intriguing experiment in producing a graphic novel. A science fiction story cowritten by film director Duncan Jones and comics veteran Alex de Campi, the comic's visuals were drawn and colored by around two dozen artists so that the book could come out sooner rather than later. Essentially a road trip story, the different artists drew various portions of the adventure so they could leave their visual stamp on the world of Madi. It's an intriguing experiment in theory, but how does the final product hold up in execution? Join us as we examine Madi: Once Upon a Time in the Future! Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters

With the recent release of Shortcomings, the film directed by Randall Park and written by Adrian Tomine, we decided to do one of our comic book movie autopsies! In this episode, we'll be discussing both the film and the original comic by Tomine. Whether you've only read the comic or only watched the movie, tune in to this episode to hear our conversation! We'll warn you in the audio before any serious spoilers. Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters

It's time to talk about volume 8 of Deadly Class, which we are reading on a monthly basis. Follow along with us as we provide our usual issue-by-issue breakdowns, analyses, and commentary!

Happiness by Shuzo Oshimi is a rare foray into vampire fiction for us (notwithstanding all the Blade, Morbius, etc. comics we've consumed). Back in episode 113, we covered the the first seven volumes of Blood on the Tracks, the Oshimi series that's still currently ongoing. Reading that series garnered enough appreciation for Oshimi's work that we decided to go back and read one of this earlier, completed series. Happiness is a vampire story, yes, but it's also a dark, psychological thriller. While it's definitely not for the squeamish, Happiness gives us a compelling plot about a teenage boy who becomes a vampire, and his coming of age story. At least... that's how it starts. The story evolves into much more. Join us as we cover all ten volumes of this manga series! Albert provides recaps for each volume as we systematically discuss each book so you can follow along with us. Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjb