You Should Read This!

Lone Wolf and Cub

Wed, 26 Feb 2020 06:25:56 +0000

Did you watch The Mandalorian? We did! And the people who made the show very clearly read Lone Wolf and Cub. So we read the first volume of this legendary 50-year-old manga.

House of X/Powers of X (with special guest!)

Fri, 15 Nov 2019 07:38:21 +0000

We get some of the old X-team back together when old friend Ian Ritch joins Alan and Ryan to talk about Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, and RB Silva’s full reboot of the X-Men comics universe in the interlocking double series House of X/Powers of X.

Ghosted, Vol. 1 (Four Color Commentary Reunion Special!)

Thu, 31 Oct 2019 05:13:57 +0000

We got the gang back together to talk about a book we first looked into nearly five years ago: Ghosted, volume 1, by Joshua Williamson, Goran Sudzuka and Miroslav Mrva.

Get ready for spoopy shenanigans with Alan and Ryan and special guests Ian and Chewie!

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

Fri, 25 Oct 2019 03:47:31 +0000

This time on You Should Read This, Alan and Ryan jump into the Eisner award winning spoopy Dia de los Muertos tale from Ryan’s kids’ favorite cartoonist, Raina Telgemeier.

Die Volume 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker by Kieron Gillen & Stephanie Hans (with special guest)

Fri, 11 Oct 2019 06:06:46 +0000

In this episode of You Should Read This, Alan and Ryan are joined by their pal Adam Ryan Cools to talk Dungeons & Dragons, RPGs with heavy lore, and deep, dark backstories in their discussion of Kieron Gillen & Stephanie Hans’ incredible book, Die.

20th Century Boys

Wed, 25 Sep 2019 23:57:48 +0000

To start off Season 2 of You Should Read This, Alan and Ryan tackle the first volume of the dense, legendary manga series 20th Century Boys.

Captain Marvel: In Pursuit of Flight & Down (with special guest!)

Wed, 15 May 2019 03:52:58 +0000

In this episode of You Should Read This, we dig into the first two volumes of the big relaunch of Captain Marvel from 2014. Volume one is In Pursuit of Flight, written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and with art by Dexter Soy, Richard Elson, Al Barrionuevo, and Emma Rios. Volume two is Down, written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Christopher Sebela, with art by Dexter Soy and Filipe Andrade.

This episode also features special guest Jenna Blush! She’s a huge comics fan who is super knowledgeable and happens to be Alan’s better half!

Battle Angel Alita Vol. 1 by Yukito Kishiro

Tue, 09 Apr 2019 01:30:11 +0000

In this episode of You Should Read This, Alan and Ryan discuss the first volume of the legendary cyberpunk manga Battle Angel Alita.

Show Notes:

Manga and its influence (yes, again. Always)
Expectations
Subverted tropes
90s comics
Technopathy
Panel Backgrounds in Manga
Technobabble

Scales & Scoundrels vol. 1&2 by Sebastian Girner and Galaad

Wed, 20 Mar 2019 06:54:29 +0000

For this episode we talked about the first two volumes of the Scales & Scoundrels series: Into the Dragon’s Maw and Treasurehearts. Written by Sebastian Girner with art by Galaad and letters by Jeff Powell, it’s a fun fantasy romp that will certainly hook fans of Dungeons & Dragons.

Show Notes:

D&D having it’s moment
D&D’s influence on comics
Manga’s inescapable influence at this point
Eurocomics as a style
Race and class for each character
Webcomics as a style
Digital-first sequential art
Nausicaa’s influence on this book
Cartoony faces and their benefits

Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite & Dallas by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá

Wed, 06 Mar 2019 05:25:19 +0000

In this episode we discuss the two collections of Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite and Dallas, as well as a spoiler-free discussion of the Netflix original show.

Show Notes:

My Chemical Romance and our histories with emo
Watching the show/movie vs reading the book
Don’t read the book for Infinity War, it’s bad
Elevator pitch
“Random” as an evolving comic book aesthetic
The dimension black can bring to a page of comics
A unique way to draw the reader’s eye
Whether you should, in fact, read this

Akira vol. 1

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 07:49:36 +0000

This time on You Should Read This, we talked about the first volume of the legendary manga Akira.

Show notes:

Millennials killing things
Japanese influence on children’s media in the united states in the 80s and 90s
Reading Manga flipped
The perspective of having read a complete series versus coming in fresh
Long-game storytelling in manga
Otomo is a master
THE ART
Every single detail is rendered, it’s totally insane

Buzz by Ananth Hirsh and Tess Stone

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 06:43:34 +0000

In this episode of You Should Read This, we jump into the outrageous world of underground spelling bees in the Oni Press book Buzz.

Also discussed:

“Amerimanga”
Oni Press
Conventions of shonen sports manga and anime
Which Ninja Turtles movies are the best ones
Storytelling techniques unique to comics

East of West Vol. 1 & 2

Tue, 22 Jan 2019 07:27:30 +0000

In this episode of You Should Read This, we talk about the dense world and history that are revealed in the first two volumes of East of West. Also discussed: the history of Image comics, Hickman’s Marvel histories, macro-series like Game of Thrones and Westworld, and the weird alternate history of the East of West series.

The Wicked + The Divine: Year One

Mon, 07 Jan 2019 07:04:12 +0000

In this episode of You Should Read This, we talk about fan-favorite ultra-modern pop music masterpiece, The Wicked + The Divine.

http://www.youshouldreadthis.club/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/01-You-Should-Read-This-Episode-3：-The-Wicked-The-Divine：-Year-One.mp3

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Phantom Blood Vol. 1

Mon, 10 Dec 2018 06:13:36 +0000

In this episode of You Should Read This! we talk about one of the longest still-running Shonen Jump manga, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure! It’s a hell of a ride.

http://www.youshouldreadthis.club/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/01-You-Should-Read-This-Episode-2-Jojos-Bizarre-Adventure-Phantom-Blood-Vol.-1.mp3

Headlopper Vol. 1: The Island or a Plague of Beasts by Andrew MacLean

Mon, 26 Nov 2018 08:04:54 +0000

Our first official episode has Alan and Ryan talking about Andrew MacLean’s Headlopper Vol. 1: The Island or a Plague of Beasts.

Episode 0: Diary Comics by Dustin Harbin

Mon, 26 Nov 2018 07:14:40 +0000

For our 0th (zeroth) episode (aka our demo episode), we read and discussed Dustin Harbin’s Diary Comics.