Jack Kirby's Omac with Dean Haspiel

 

For this podcast's Season Finale, Dean Haspiel (The Red Hook, American Splendor, Cuba: My Revolution) and I discuss Jack Kirby's O.M.A.C. One Man Army Corps.  A highlight of this podcast for me has been being prompted to read a bunch of DC comics that Kirby made in the 70's, and this is no exception.  We discuss the finer points of the series, the ten-million-ideas-per-page approach it takes, the unusual choice of inkers, how abruptly the whole thing ends upon cancelation, and the very direct influence this series had on Dean's work.  All this plus Dean tells us how to draw the Thing.  

Here's a link to The Runs Comics Podcast on iTunes.  And here's the link to the show on Spotify. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review! 

If you'd like to hear another season of The Runs, say so in a review!  And/or send me an email! 

And here's a link if you'd like the stream the episode.  

Junji Ito's Uzumaki with Joelle Jones

 

Superstar comics artist Joelle Jones (Batman, Catwoman, Lady Killer) comes by this week to talk about Junji Ito's celebrated horror Manga, Uzumaki.  Are spirals really scary, or just ridiculous?  Or are the ridiculous parts what makes this comic so scary?  Or would it all just be totally ridiculous if Junji Ito wasn't so good at drawing?  Find out as we examine lives lost to pottery, snake mating rituals and hairstyles. 

Here's a link to The Runs Comics Podcast on iTunes.  And here's the link to the show on Spotify. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review! 

And here's a link if you'd like the stream the episode.  

Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's Y: The Last Man with Amy Miller

 

This week, famous comedian Amy Miller comes on to talk about Y: The Last Man, a series that answers a question that most women ask themselves every day: how great would it be if every man suddenly died?  The series also inadvertently asks: What would a world of only women look like if every woman looked exactly the same?  These and other important questions are addressed this episode!  

Here's a link to The Runs Comics Podcast on iTunes.  And here's the link to the show on Spotify. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review! 

And here's a link if you'd like the stream the episode.  

Claremont and Byrne's X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga with Susan Kirtley

 Susan Kirtley (college professor and head of the Comics Studies Program at Portland State University) is really fun to talk to about comics because she's an accomplished academic and also a total comics nerd.  We discuss the all-time classic X-men run of The Dark Phoenix Saga, oscillating throughout between discourse about what greater meaning can be found within the story and pointing out which parts are super awesome.  Come for Wolverine carving fools up, stay for the dialogue about intersectional feminism.  

Here's a link to The Runs Comics Podcast on iTunes.  And here's the link to the show on Spotify. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review! 

And here's a link if you'd like the stream the episode.   

Gaiman and Co.'s Sandman: World's End with Mark Russell

 

When I asked comics writer Mark Russell (Exit, Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, Fantastic Four: Life Story, Superman: Space Age) to come on the show, he immediately said that he wanted to discuss Sandman: World's End because he thought that they were some of the best comics ever made. I always thought that those issues sucked but I really respected Mark's opinion, so I was pretty sure this was going to be a good discussion.  So, which is it?  Best comics ever made, or a real low point in the Sandman series?  Listen to find out. 

Here's a link to The Runs Comics Podcast on iTunes.  And here's the link to the show on Spotify. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review! 

And here's a link if you'd like the stream the episode. 

Claremont and Paul Smith's X-Men with Austin Gorton

 

This week, comics blogger and pop-culture expert Austin Gorton talks with me about a real hall-of-fame run, Chris Claremont and Paul Smith's issues of Uncanny X-Men.  Austin has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things X-Men and he's got some good jokes, too.  This is a real connoisseur's run, as it's often overshadowed by more "blockbuster" X-runs but it's quietly a high point for the entire franchise.  

Here's a link to The Runs Comics Podcast on iTunes.  And here's the link to the show on Spotify. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review! 

And here's a link if you'd like the stream the episode. 

Todd McFarlane's Spawn with Matt Bors

 

One of the comics industries greatest little-known-facts is that multi-Pulitzer prize nominated political cartoonist Matt Bors is in fact a die-hard Spawn fan.  Revel in his un-ironic joy at one of the best worst comics of the early 90's.  Listen to two non-fictional, journalism focused cartoonists talk about how Spawn was pretty much the coolest shit ever when they were ten.  One of them still thinks so, the other... not so much.  

Here's a link to The Runs Comics Podcast on iTunes.  And here's the link to the show on Spotify. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review! 

And here's a link if you'd like the stream the episode. 

Kirkman and Walker/Ottley's Invincible with Joshua Silverstein

 

My first guest who isn't a comic book creator of some sort, actor/comedian/musician/all-around-performer Joshua Silverstein comes by to talk about the first dozen issues of Invincible.  This episode may or may not be a painful portrayal of how a person that takes comics way too seriously talks with a person who reads comics for entertainment.  Also, Joshua likes Invincible because it's about beating up your dad.  

Here's a link to The Runs Comics Podcast on iTunes.  And here's the link to the show on Spotify. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review! 

And here's a link if you'd like the stream the episode. 

Lobdell and Bachalo's Generation X/Generation Next with Terry Blas

Brilliant comics writer and sometimes illustrator Terry Blas (You Say Latino, Lifetime Passes, Dead Weight, Reptil, Ariana Grande Vs. Sargeant Shade and the Clonebot Parade) joins me this week to talk about one of the weirder series launches in Marvel history.  In the 90's, writer Scott Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo teamed up to create Generation X, the new New Mutants, which ran for four issues before being retooled as Generation Next for the Age of Apocalypse crossover. Does that even make any sense?  Come for the amazing artwork, stay to hear Terry call out the total misuse of Spanish in Skin's dialogue.  

Here's a link to The Runs Comics Podcast on iTunes.  And here's the link to the show on Spotify. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review! 

And here's a link if you'd like the stream the episode. 

Peter Bagge's Hate with Whit Taylor

 

Beloved Comics writer, artist and editor, Whit Taylor (Montana Diary, Comics for Choice, Fizzle, The Nib) talks with me this week about the first 5 issues of Peter Bagge's definitive 90's alt-comic series, Hate.  Can a series about crappy people persevere in this current cultural climate?  Find out how well it's aged, and how we'll we've aged as longtime fans of this series. 

Here's a link to The Runs Comics Podcast on iTunes.  And here's the link to the show on Spotify. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review! 

And here's a link if you'd like the stream the episode. 

Jack Kirby's Kamandi with Erik Larsen

 Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon, Amazing Spider-Man, Image Comics co-founder) is my guest this week as we talk about the first six issues of Jack Kirby's brilliant, weird and brilliantly weird post-Marvel series, Kamandi, The Last Boy On earth.  Getting to hear a living comics legend talk about the work of a no-longer-with-us comics legend is about as good as it gets on this show. Be sure to keep track of the number of times that Kamandi gets knocked out.  

Here's a link to The Runs Comics Podcast on iTunes.  And here's the link to the show on Spotify. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review! 

And here's a link if you'd like the stream the episode. 

John Byrne's Fantastic Four with Alex Robinson

 

Indie Comics superstar (Box Office Poison, Tricked, Our Expanding Universe) and Podcast celebrity (Star Wars Minute) Alex Robinson joins us to talk about the first 10 issues (232-241) of John Byrne's legendary run on Fantastic Four. Do they hold up?  And, more importantly, how relatable is Byrne's giant woman fetish?  Find out on this episode!  

Click here to Stream the episode.  

Introducing The Runs

 

The Runs is a podcast in which host Ryan Alexander-Tanner discusses a run of a comic book series with a different brilliant guest each episode.  Guests are often comics creators but also include comedians, academics, bloggers or any other number of fascinating people.  

What is a "run," you ask?  It's one of those comic book terms that invites endless pedantic debate when  a precise definition is attempted.  The interpretation may change some between episodes, but, fundamentally, a run is when a consistent creative team (or single creator) produces regular serialized installments of a comic book series.  For example, Chris Claremont and John Byrne produced Uncanny X-Men #108-143 together, so those issues are the Claremont/Byrne X-men run.  

Guests on this show are invited to pick a run that they'd like to discuss.  Sometimes the run is decided through discussion between the guest and the host.  One major agreement is that no more than 12 issues will be discussed in an episode, so if a longer run is proposed, most often the beginning of that run is discussed and the guest is invited to come back for a follow-up episode that continues the run.

Click here to listen to the introductory episode of The Runs.  This will be the only episode that doesn't feature a guest (it's just the host discussing the show, what inspired it, etc.).  The first official episode will be released next week, with new episodes releasing every week after that for at least 12 episodes.  

New Logo Artwork

 Let's try this time 

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