In this episode, James, Jane, Jon and Nick are all in the studio, to talk about the past, and give some hints to the future. There are also appearances from David Wynne and Max Barnard, and a very kind message from Peter Hammerson.

There’ll be a full statement about this later – probably more than one, knowing us - and there are a few more details in this episode, but the most important thing to know is that for at least the foreseeable future this site and all of these episodes will remain, we are still alive and planning on working with each other on more podcasts in the very near future, and we love you all. You’ve been incredibly supportive and thoughtful over the last 4.8 years, and we hope you’ll support us in our future endeavours; we have never take that support for granted, and will always be grateful for the hours of your time you’ve given us.

Stay subscribed and hopefully, pretty soon, there’ll be more audio goodness coming your way. Oh, and listen to the very end of this episode. Always listen to the very end of the episode.

We love you! Buhbye!

Shownotes:
Spotlight: Asterix & The Soothsayer by Goscinny & Uderzo – buy it here!
Ryan K Lindsay – Twitter
Howtoons – link
Escher Girls – link
Martin Eden’s fan art – link

Show timings:
00:01:30 – Our weeks

00:14:30 – This Week’s Comics:
00:14:30 – 2000AD #1893 by various
00:20:30 – Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #1 by Joe Casey & Nathan Fox/Jim Rugg/Ulises Farinas
00:30:00 – Terminal Hero #1 by Peter Milligan & Piotr Kowalski
00:39:00 – Howtoons Reignition #1 by Fred Van Lente and Tom Fowler/Jordie Bellaire

01:00:00 – Awkward Middle Bit: Randy Queen & Escher Girls/movie non-announcements/Leigh Gallagher

01:30:00 – George Beedham contribution: Annihiliation Prologue by Keith Giffen & Scott Kolins
01:09:00 – Spotlight: Asterix & The Soothsayer by Goscinny & Uderzo
01:20:00 - Timothy Swann contribution: Signal by Paul Duffield

Shownotes:
Check out this incredible art that Martin Eden did of us: link
Friends With Boys by Faith Erin Hicks – buy it here!

Show Timings:
00:02:00 – Our weeks

00:10:00 – This Week’s Comics:
00:10:00 – Elektra #3-4 by W Haden Blackman & Michael Del Mundo
00:15:30 – Bodies #1 by Si Spencer & Tula Lotay/Phil Winslade/Meghan Hetrick-Murante/Dean Ormston/Lee Loughridge
00:31:00 – And Then Emily Was Gone #1 by John Lees & Iain Laurie
00:38:00 – 2000ad #1892 by various
00:43:00 – Outcast #2 by Robert Kirkman & Paul Azaceta
00:52:00 – Low #1 by Rick Remender & Greg Tocchini

00:58:00 – Awkward Middle Bit: Comixology DRM-free comics / Wonder Woman on screen

01:12:00 – Spotlight: Friends With Boys by Faith Erin Hicks

01:29:00 – Our weeks

Interesting promo video. I appreciate the sentiment, but “Everybody can come here & everybody can succeed” is… not what’s on screen…

No offense to any of the creators in it, most of whom I love, but – all white, only one woman, all but 2 made their careers at Big 2. For something about a visual medium, maybe not enough thought was put into the story the pictures in the video tell?

(The thing is, I KNOW that Image is more representative than that, & the Image Deal is more democratic than most. I’m talking specifically about that video. There are plenty of creators who aren’t superstars at Image, on plenty of books that bubble without bursting. It’s the COOLEST thing about Image.)

It is also a little irritating when the “Image origin story” is rolled out as having anything to do with the ethos at Image now. In the broadest possible sense – creators gots to get paid! – it is, but of those guys, the only person who’s attitude even remotely tallied with Image now was Jim Valentino’s, and he kept getting sidelined for the first ten or so years of their history.

Everybody else (Sam Keith the notable exception) basically built their own little closed off temples to personal greed, replicating the work they’d done on other people’s characters at Marvel, and as soon as they could building studios of other artists to draw their comics for them. Pulling in writers to work on their books when they realised they needed writers to do that for them, and then in some cases treating those writers about the same way they’d been treated anywhere else.

Paying people to write and draw stories for characters they created, giving those creators no ownership of the work they did. Acquiring characters that others had created before, and claiming sole ownership of them.

Going back to work on Marvel characters when offered a decent payday, or upping sticks completely with their imprint when DC offered a decent deal.

Basically, as an inspirational backstory, that well is well-poisoned.

It’s also notable that when referring to the creators at Image at the beginning, and the creators at Image now, the term “creators” is persistent, when actually it wasn’t ALL of the hot creators at Marvel who decamped to form Image (as suggested) – there were only artists at the formation of Image – writers like Peter David, Chris Claremont, Fabian Nicieza, who arguably had SOMETHING to do with the success of the books those guys worked on, remained.

Similarly, all but one of the people speaking for “creators” now are writers (except Erik Larsen, who’s a drawthor).

I love Image comics, and I’d love to see the dominance that Marvel and DC currently hold over the comic industry diminish. Image are putting out by far the best comics overall at the moment, and it’s refreshing to know that the creators working over there are getting a good deal. Although I suspect that the quality of the work is as much about the diversity of the work as it is about Image in particular.

But the myth-building – the glorious foundations that we are expected to believe this company is built on – is difficult to stomach. At the point when the Image founders were doing little more than recasting the Marvel bullpen, spandex and power fantasies, recreating the cultural cul-de-sac comics had put themselves in in their own image, Marvel were still trying to make a go of Epic, the home of some of the most innovative comics of the 80s, and DC were just getting started on Vertigo.

Had it not been for the amazing editorial voices at Vertigo and Dark Horse, and some still plugging away on the fringes of Marvel, at the time “Image Now” wouldn’t have/couldn’t have existed. While those people were working on getting more diverse stories and creative voices out in the world, the Image founders were merrily trying to drive the comic bus into a ditch, and a scared Marvel and DC were nervily trying to follow them.

So I guess what I’m saying is “great work at the moment, Image, but MORE DIVERSE CREATORS! SMARTER PROMO VIDEOS! LESS MYTH BUILDING!”

(Or, you know, Image could just keep on putting out most of the best comics around, and instead “Hey, comic audience! STOP PAYING ATTENTION TO HYPE AND BULLSHIT! Just buy the stuff you like! IGNORE IDEALOGUES!”)

Show notes:
Wankula by Peter Hammerson – link
Spotlight: Gambit Classic vol 1 by various – Amazon
3 Bods 1 Pod – link
Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men – link

Show timings:
00:03:00 – Our weeks

00:14:00 – This week’s comics:
00:14:00 – 2000AD #1891 by various
00:18:30 – The Midas Flesh #8 by Ryan North & Shelli Paroline/Braden Lamb
00:20:00 – Ordinary #3 by Rob Williams & D’Israeli
00:21:00 – Doctor Who #1 by Nick Abadzis & Elena Casagrande/Arianna Florean
00:27:30 – Supreme Blue Rose #1 by Warren Ellis & Tula Lotay
00:34:00 – Tuki #1 by Jeff Smith
00:42:00 – Groo Vs Conan #1 by Sergio Aragones/Mark Evanier/Thomas Yeates

00:43:30 – Awkward Middle Bit: Fight Club 2/SDCC/3 Bods 1 Pod/

00:49:00 – Put Something In James’ Mouth: Kehaar’s Sci-fi Cricket Eleven Sketch Request Thing

00:52:00 – Spotlight: Gambit Classic vol 1 by various

01:01:00 – Our coming weeks

Show notes:
Jonah Hex – No Way Back by Jimmy Palmiotti/Justin Gray & Tony Dezuniga – buy it here!
Spacescape by David Wynne/Ian Sharman – link
David Wynne’s postcard – link
Stacey’s Pop Culture Parlour 24 Hour special – link
Stacey’s Pop Culture Parlour Just Giving page – link

Show timings:
00:02:00 – Our weeks

00:11:30 – This week’s comics:
00:11:30 – 2000AD #1889/1890 by various
00:34:30 – The Wicked And The Divine #2 by Kieron Gillen & Jamie Mckelvie

00:42:00 – Awkward Middle Bit: Spacescape / Peter Hammerson / David Wynne / Mjolnir changes hands / Captain America / Stacey’s Pop Culture Parlour 24 Hour Spectacular

01:01:00 – Spotlight: Jonah Hex – No Way Back by Jimmy Palmiotti/Justin Gray & Tony Dezuniga

Show notes:
George Beedham talks about “Drax The Destroyer” by Keith Giffen &  Mitch Breitweiser
Peter Hammerson talks about “The Bojeffries Saga” by Alan Moore & Steve Parkhouse
Max Barnard talks about “Gin Tama” by Kideaki Sorachi
And in his spotlight James talks about “Dr Horrible and Other Horrible Stories” by Zach Whedon & various

(More thorough notes will hopefully be made available over the next couple of days! Thanks for your patience!)

Show notes:
House Party by Rachael Smith – buy it here!
Amazing Spider-Man: Kraven’s First Hunt by various – buy it here!

Show timings:
00:03:00 – Our weeks

00:18:30 – This Week’s Comics:
00:18:30 – House Party by Rachael Smith
00:28:00 – 2000AD #1888 by various
00:35:00 – Outcast #1 by Robert Kirkman & Paul Azaceta
00:41:30 – Rocket Racoon #1 by Skottie Young

00:50:00 – Awkward Middle Bit

00:56:00 – Spotlight: Amazing Spider-Man – Kraven’s First Hunt by various
01:06:00 – Our coming weeks

Show timings:
00:03:30 – Our weeks
00:14:30 – If comic books are for everybody, why don’t they sell better?

00:40:00 – This Week’s Comics:
00:40:00 – 2000AD #1887 by various
00:47:30 – Letter 44 #7 by Charles Soule & Joelle Jones
00:51:30 – The Fuse #5 by Antony Johnston & Justin Greenwood
00:53:00 – The Midas Flesh #7 by Ryan North & Braden Lamb/Shelli Paroline
00:55:30 – The Trees #2 by Warren Ellis & Jason Howard
00:59:00 – Ordinary #2 by Rob Williams & D’israeli

01:05:00 – Awkward Middle Bit

01:07:00 – Spotlight: Buck Rogers vol 1 by Scott Beatty & Carlos Rafael
01:21:30 – Our coming week

While the exploits of superpowered beings are more traditionally associated with visual mediums than written ones Tidhar’s prose is still a great fit for the task at hand. Certain aspects may take a little adjustment (there are no quotation marks when people speak for one), but the writing in The Violent Century has a unique descriptiveness that suits its setting and characters perfectly. What’s more Tidhar isn’t above using his text to impart some interesting and occasionally humourous, ideas on the sequential roots of such characters:

The Old Man tilts his head. Regards Fogg like a question.
-What are you going to do to me?
-I’m here to take you to a special school for special people. People like you. Where you will be happy, the Old Man says.
Fogg wanting to believe. Hope in his eyes. How easily it’s taken away. But wants it to be true, so badly it hurts. Says, Really?
-Of course not, boy, the Old Man says. Don’t be so bloody stupid. I’m here to give you a job.

Tidhar’s wry sense of humour provides a good counterbalance to the novel’s grittier aspects. His commentary on the comic book medium also extends to the way the Ubermensch of each nation are presented. The Americans dress in loud garish costumes and  are effectively a walking PR campaign for the war, while the German Ubermensch head up death squads hunting down others of their kind for experimentation in the concentration camps. Fogg and Oblivion meanwhile are super powered spies, told only to observe and remain in the background.  Tidhar is all too aware however that there is no point in people having superpowers if they don’t do something ridiculously cool with them every now and then. When the action does happen Tidhar’s prose explodes into glorious technicolour set-pieces as his Ubermensch find increasingly interesting ways to use their powers.

As good as the action in this book is though the true heart of The Violent Century beats in its characters. While Fogg is more often than not the central focus of this novel it is through the eyes of his colleague Oblivion that the book’s real power shines through. Granted the ability to reduce anything to a molecular level Oblivion’s power has no purpose other than de(con)struction. As the years go by we see his sense of self  erode away quietly inside of him while outwardly he remains the same. It’s a wonderful, well written idea that lends a sense of gravitas to the story while making sure it retains a sense of heartfelt humanity that brings the story back round to its core question: What makes a hero?

In times gone by people have speculated that Super Heroes are created to be representations of ourselves and what we, as people, aspire to be. Tidhar’s uses his own super powered beings as a representation of what we, as people,  actually are and the effect that decades of endless conflict have had on us as a whole. Throughout the book Fogg often mutters “This Bloody War”. At first you think he is just talking about World War II, but as the years go by and Fogg says it more often you realise he is talking about the never ending conflict that has been going on ever since. As people we don’t often see what effect that war has had on the human race as a whole. Outwardly we seem, for the most part, unchanged but the effect it is having on us on the inside is another matter.  While at first this might seem like a particularly bleak outlook Tidhar uses it to turn things around and in answering the question of what makes a hero ends the novel on a note of optimism, offering hope not just for his characters but maybe for the human race as well.

In closing The Violent Century is a fantastic novel that is as gripping and exhilarating as it is intelligent and thoughtful. I cannot recommend it highly enough.