Aaron & Alex go against type and discuss the very recent X-Men series House of X/Powers of X by Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, and R. B. Silva. This lengthy 2 hour discussion starts with the loaded question, "Is this series pretentious?" and goes from there. They address the many things they liked and disliked about the series, how it breathes new life into a stagnant line of books, and weather or not it sufficiently lives up to it's lofty goals.  

Comic DNA

Episode 80 - House of X & Powers of X

Aaron is joined by comic creator Gabe Dunston to discuss their mutually favorite comic book, The Tick by Ben Edlund.  Multiple animated and live action TV shows all started right here!

Episode 79 - The Tick

Aaron and Alex are back to talk about We3, written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Frank Quitely. Published by Vertigo Comics in 2004. Morrison and Quitely deliver an elegantly violent story about three animals turned war machines trying to find their way home. It's Robocop meets Homeward Bound, what more could you want?

Episode 78 - We3

We're back with another Quickies review. This time, Aaron and Alex discuss a batch of new #1 issues including two beloved licensed properties and two issues from new publisher TSK Studios. Overall, we mostly liked all these books, especially the stuff from TKO Studios. As with all our Quickie reviews, we gave ourselves a 5 minute time limit to discuss each book, but we liked Goodnight Paradise so much that we give it an extra 5 minutes because the rules are made up and the points don't matter. Comics reviewed: Army of Darkness/Bubba Ho Tep #1 by Scott Duvall and Vincenzo Federici The Fearsome Doctor Fang #1 by Tze Chun, Mike Weiss, and Dan McDaid G.I. Joe: Sierra Muerte #1 by Michel Fiffe Goodnight Paradise by Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli

Comic DNA Quickies 02

We here at Comic DNA are starting up reviews again in a new series called Quickies. Aaron and Alex will be doing short reviews of new(ish) comics still on the stands. We've imposed a five minute time limit on each book we review to keep from repeating ourselves and going off on tangents. Comics reviewed in this episode:Action Comics #1007 by Brian Michael Bendis & Steve EptingX-O Manowar #23 by Matt Kindt & Tomás GiorelloThe Wild Storm #19 by Warren Ellis & Jon Davis-HuntLivewire #1 by Vita Ayala & Raúl Allén We will start doing long form discussions about graphic novels and other larger works again, but they will be less frequent than the Quickies reviews.

Comic DNA Quickies 01

Aaron and Alex discuss Michel Fiffe's superhero revenge comic, COPRA, a modern indie classic if there ever was one.  The discussion mostly revolves around Fiffe's artistic style, but we also talk about his refreshingly natural writing.  As Aaron once said to Michel Fiffe, "Copra is pure comics!"

Episode 77 - Copra

This episode features Batman Year 100 by Paul Pope. In addition to gushing over Pope's art, we also discuss the ambiguity of the story and some of the politics that make up the foundation of the book, as well as the many ways it deviates from a traditional Batman story and why some fans might dislike it. Read Aaron's comics here:http://www.gocomics.com/american-chop-sueyhttps://tapas.io/series/Wreck-Lass

Episode 76 - Batman Year 100

Aaron is joined by his good friends (and favorite husband/wife duo), Alex and Taryn to discuss the first volume of the freshly reprinted Battle Angel Alita. We spend more time talking about how important the manga was during our impressionable teenage years than actually discussing the content of the book, but we do try to dig into why it is considered to be such an underground classic.

Episode 75 - Battle Angel Alita 01

Alex and Aaron have a short, final discussion about Stan Lee & Jack Kirby's X-men and then discuss what kind of new books they should read for future episodes. This episode also marks the debut of the webcam format we will be using for future YouTube videos.  

Episode 74 - X-men epilogue & future planning

Aaron and Alex finish their series on Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's original X-men issues. Finally! Issues 17 and 18 are the last issues to be plotted and laid out by Kirby. These two issues feature the return of Magneto, who has another weird plan to take over the world. It should come as no surprise to learn that these issues are not very good, and by this point we are just glad to be finished with these books.  

Episode 73 - X-men 17-18

Aaron and Alex continue with Stan Lee & Jack Kirby's X-men series with issues 14-16, introducing the famous Sentinels for the first time. Despite being overwritten with a loose and simple plot, this is one of the better stories of the era because it's actually about the X-men. The discussion mostly revolves around how well the issue handles the themes unique to the X-men mythos, such as the human versus mutant dynamic. This issue also features a continuity point that is referenced in Grant Morrison's New X-men series from the early 2000's. Aaron also goes into in impromptu critique of the more recent Captain America: Winter Soldier movie, using it as an example of a poorly written, one dimensional villain.  

Episode 72 - X-men 14-16

Continuing our series on Stan Lee & Jack Kirby's original X-men series, Aaron and Alex discuss issues 12 and 13 in a single episode. This two part stories introduces us to the famous X-men villain The Juggernaut and tells us the origin of Professor X. These are the first issues where Jack steps down from full time pencil duties and just delivers layouts, with the pencils on issue 12 by the legendary Alex Toth, and issue 13 by Jay Gavin. Ironically, despite not having full Jack Kirby art, they are the best issues in the series since the debut issue. In this lengthy episode we share our love for the Juggernaut as a villain and, like many of these episodes so far, have a lengthy discussion about the collaborative style of Stan & Jack and the production history of this series.

Episode 71 - X-men 12 &13

Aaron and Alex continue their discussion of the classic Stan Lee & Jack Kirby X-men comics.  Issue #11 features The Stranger and is about the most uninteresting story in the series so far.  We spend way too much time complaining about this issue.   Your time is better spent reading my new comics American Chop Suey and The Uncontrollable Wreck-Lass!

Episode 70 - X-Men 11

Aaron and Alex return after a short hiatus to talk about the classic Stan Lee and Jack Kirby X-men series.  Issue #10 takes the X-men to the Savage Land and introduces the characters of Ka-Zar and Zabu.  The discussion revolves around the competent, albiet simplistic story, and Stan Lee's penchant for crowding dialog into panels where Jack Kirby may not have intended it to be.

Episode 69 - X-Men 10

I take a break from the boring old X-men discussion so I can have another creator hangout.  This time, I talk with Christopher Michael, another St. Louis area comic writer.  Chris and I talk shop a bit about writing, working with artists, tabling at conventions, navegating social media, and share stories about the nicest comic creator either of us has ever met (Joshua Dysart).Check out Christopher's comics at www.headmetalcomics.com.

Episode 68 - Creator Hangout with Chrisopher Michael

Indie comic writer Aaron Walther discusses his favorite comics with other comic writers and artists.

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Comic DNA

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