Crying in the Book Club

Crying in the Book Club

by Crying in the Book Club

Books Animation and Manga Hobbies

Season 1

Episode 19: This One Summer

It's a two person show this week--Alex is still recovering from the high level ideas of Civil War. And to be fair, Jean-Luc and Emily are as well, So it's a lighter episode on a story about the notoriously light topic "coming of age as a woman in America." The duo discusses Jillian Tamaki's gorgeous art style and use of colors, and of course Mariko Tamaki's story about young women discovering themselves on a summer vacation. Next, on Crying in the Book Club: Chad makes his return for the 2016 mini series The Hunt. Our theme music was composed by our wonderful friend Gwyn. You can find their work on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/hopefullynotbadlib. Our podcast art was done by everyone's favorite co-host Emily. Follow us on Twitter: @cryingbookclub @mtdewliker @empandanada @alexhandziuk

Episode 18: Civil War

For the first book club episode of the new year, the crew checks out Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's highly influential Civil War event. It's a tall order to try and dissect the book's themes, politics, and tie ins in a reasonable time frame, but we did our best! Next, on Crying in the Book Club: Chad makes his return for the 2016 mini series The Hunt. Our theme music was composed by our wonderful friend Gwyn. You can find their work on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/hopefullynotbadlib. Our podcast art was done by everyone's favorite co-host Emily. Follow us on Twitter: @cryingbookclub @mtdewliker @empandanada @alexhandziuk

17: 2022 In Review

Happy new year! While everyone else may already be done reflecting on the year that was, the book club is turning their sights back on the debut year of the show before launching into new books. First, Jean-Luc presents his ten favorite ongoing series of the year, which Alex and Emily (who haven't read them) put in a ranked order. Then, the trio rank the books they read for the podcast. Will Watchmen be outranked by SpyxFamily? How does The Amory Wars stack up against Kingdom Come? Well, you'll simply have to listen and find out. Next, on Crying in the Book Club: Jean-Luc subjects his two wonderful friends to the psychological torture of Mark Millar's mind with Civil War. Our theme music was composed by our wonderful friend Gwyn. You can find their work on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/hopefullynotbadlib. Our podcast art was done by everyone's favorite co-host Emily. Follow us on Twitter: @cryingbookclub @mtdewliker @empandanada @alexhandziuk

Episode 16: Kingdom Come

(Kingdom) Come one, (Kingdom) Come all, to this, the final episode of Crying in the Book Club's first year. For Jean-Luc, this is a return to a foundational text that shaped his love of superhero comics. For Alex, a first outing with one of the most iconic stories told about some of his favorite characters. And for Emily, perhaps the best arc of all: closing the loop on some really fucking cool action figures (which we definitely talk about for 5+ minutes at the beginning of the episode). Next, on Crying in the Book Club: The crew recaps the year that was in comics. Our theme music was composed by our wonderful friend Gwyn. You can find their work on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/hopefullynotbadlib. Our podcast art was done by everyone's favorite co-host Emily. Follow us on Twitter: @cryingbookclub @mtdewliker @empandanada @alexhandziuk

Episode 15: Spy x Family

They tell me you're not supposed to pronounce the "x" in Spy x Family, which makes me wonder why they even put it there to begin with. We don't actually answer that question on the episode, which is a bummer, but the good news is we delve a bit deeper than insipid conversations about title stylization. Instead, the book club answers real questions about Spy x Family, a shonen manga about a spy who has to forge a family in a foreign country in order to achieve world peace. Questions like "do Yor and Loid love each other?" (yes), "was Damian inspired by Damian Wayne?" (seems likely). and most importantly "did Emily trick two western comic book fans into liking a manga series?" (you'll have to listen to get that answer). Next, on Crying in the Book Club: We're kicking it 90's style with two of the greatest to ever do it, Mark Waid and Alex Ross, as we revisit the classic Kingdom Come. Our theme music was composed by our wonderful friend Gwyn. You can find their work on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/hopefullynotbadlib. Our podcast art was done by everyone's favorite co-host Emily. Follow us on Twitter: @cryingbookclub @mtdewliker @empandanada @alexhandziuk

Episode 14: Shade the Changing Girl

Hoo boy, did the universe ever conspire against us releasing this episode. Alex's internet went down, so he had to record from a scuffed setup. Jean-Luc's internet kept going in and out. Emily.... well, Emily's issues weren't technical but they kept dropping a pen or something and I had to edit all of it out. Nevertheless! We soldiered on and talked for a little more than an hour about the 2017 Cecil Castellucci-written and Marley Zarcone-drawn Shade the Changing Girl, the Young Animal imprint soft-reboot of Shade the Changing Man. The series follows Loma Shade, an Avian from the planet Meta who becomes obsessed with Earth, which leads to her possessing the body of a dying high school bully. Clearly inspired by the classic Vertigo books of the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, it's hard not to be impressed by the swings taken by Castellucci and Zarcone. But, do those swings connect? And when they do, are they hitting homers? Well, for those answers, you'll have to listen to the episode. Next, on Crying in the Book Club: Emily takes the book club international once again, this time for the first three volumes of the smash hit manga SpyxFamily. Our theme music was composed by our wonderful friend Gwyn. You can find their work on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/hopefullynotbadlib. Our podcast art was done by everyone's favorite co-host Emily. Follow us on Twitter: @cryingbookclub @mtdewliker @empandanada @alexhandziuk

Episode 13: Daredevil Born Again

Just like Daredevil, Crying in the Book Club has been reborn. Reborn into what, you may ask, and I simply do not have a good answer for you. But as the title suggests, we are going to talk to you about Frank Miller and David Mazuchelli's Daredevil Born Again, a major stepping stone both for superhero comics writ large and the Daredevil character specifically. And, hoo boy, is there a lot to talk about. Y'know what ages well? Some of these beautiful Mazuchelli pages. You know what decidedly doesn't age well? Frank Miller's handle on women. And social issues! Well, some of them. It's a really contradictory book! Next, on Crying in the Book Club: Alex takes us back to the wild days of DC's Young Animal imprint with Shade the Changing Girl. Our theme music was composed by our wonderful friend Gwyn. You can find their work on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/hopefullynotbadlib. Our podcast art was done by everyone's favorite co-host Emily. Follow us on Twitter: @cryingbookclub @mtdewliker @empandanada @alexhandziuk

Episode 12: God Country

This episode, the crew time travels back to 2017 for a look at Donnie Cates' and Geoff Shaw's breakout Image miniseries God Country. And, wow, it's almost like a different podcast with our good friend Chad Waller joining us to talk about a comic book again! You love to see it folks. Next, on Crying in the Book Club: Alex takes us back to the wild days of DC's Young Animal imprint with Shade the Changing Girl. Our theme music was composed by our wonderful friend Gwyn. You can find their work on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/hopefullynotbadlib. Our podcast art was done by everyone's favorite co-host Emily. Follow us on Twitter: @cryingbookclub @mtdewliker @empandanada @alexhandziuk @inonumband

Episode 11: The Long Halloween

What better way to celebrate Halloween (which is still two weeks away) than with a book about the longest Halloween ever record, Batman: The Long Halloween? Which is a convoluted way of saying something you already know if you read the title: we're talking about Batman: The Long Halloween! Which is a classic Batman story! That starts and ends on Halloween! But first, you have to hear Alex, Emily, and Jean-Luc relive getting their drivers' licenses. Not exactly pertinent, but, uh, Batman has a car? After that, it's about an hour of talk about the book, from Tim Sale's wonderful art to its spot in the Batman canon bridging the gap between mobsters and supervillains. Next, on Crying in the Book Club: We welcome back our old co-host, Chad, to talk about the 2017 miniseries God Country. Our theme music was composed by our wonderful friend Gwyn. You can find their work on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/hopefullynotbadlib. Our podcast art was done by everyone's favorite co-host Emily. Follow us on Twitter: @cryingbookclub @mtdewliker @empandanada @alexhandziuk

Episode 10: The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

This episode, things get ~~~sppoooooky~~~ at Crying in the Book Club HQ as the crew rewinds to 2014...er, 2015? No, 17? Ah, yeah, 2021. Maybe that won't read well. It's a joke about Chilling Adventures of Sabrina's inability to release new issues. But there are some issues that exist and dammit, we're gonna talk about them! It's a bit of a lighter episode, but there's plenty of time to go long on Robert Hack's incredible artwork, which really brings RAS' characters and settings to life. The hosts also discuss the book in relation to its Netflix adaptation, its surprising mean streak, and how the writing has changed over its 7 year run. Next, on Crying in the Book Club: With Halloween right around the corner, the book club is returning to Gotham for Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Batman: The Long Halloween. Our theme music was composed by our wonderful friend Gwyn. You can find their work on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/hopefullynotbadlib. Our podcast art was done by everyone's favorite co-host Emily. Follow us on Twitter: @cryingbookclub @mtdewliker @empandanada @alexhandziuk

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