Episode 223: Reviews of Trump: The Complete Collection, The Few #1, and Gumballs #1

Time Codes: 00:00:31 - Introduction 00:02:48 - We stand with John Lewis! 00:08:44 - Trump: The Complete Collection 00:58:22 - The Few #1 01:11:46 - Gumballs #1 01:25:12 - Wrap up 01:25:58 - Contact us This week the Two Guys with PhDs start off by getting political. While some listeners might not like it when Andy and Derek become polemical on the podcast, the guys just had to speak out about the brouhaha surrounding Congressman John Lewis's recent comments on Trump's illegitimacy. The Two Guys stand with Representative Lewis, a man of courage, honor, and action. And it's heartening that copies of March are selling out all over the place! But enough of the bad Trump. The guys find more serious another entity of that name, this one orchestrated by the legendary Harvey Kurtzman. Trump: The Complete Collection is the second volume in Dark Horse's Essential Kurtzman series. This beautiful hardbound edition collects the only two issues of Trump ever published, as well as the many never-before reproduced illustrations from what would have been the third issue of the magazine, had Hugh Hefner not pulled the plug. Both Andy and Derek appreciate the collection -- especially Denis Kitchen's outstanding essay and annotations! -- and while some of the humor appears dated (or even falls flat at times), this text stands out as an indispensable historical contribution. After that Derek and Andy check out two recent #1 issues, Sean Lewis and Hayden Sherman's The Few (Image Comics) and Erin Nations's Gumballs (Top Shelf/IDW Publishing). The former is a leisurely paced and extra-long issue centered around a future where the United States is now a fractured territory due to water scarcities (at least the guys think this is the series' premise). Sherman's art stands out here. And Gumballs is a single-creator anthology that's a mix of autobiographical sketches, character portraits, and poignant cultural observations. The guys look forward to seeing what transpires in both of these series.