Episode 272: Reviews of Babylon Berlin, The True Death of Billy the Kid, and The Highest House #1

Time Codes: 00:00:32 - Introduction 00:03:09 - Get on our email list! 00:05:45 - Listener research 00:08:22 - Babylon Berlin 00:47:05 - The True Death of Billy the Kid 01:12:53 - The Highest House #1 01:28:59 - Wrap up 01:30:08 - Contact us This week Gene and Derek discuss three recent titles, all of which concern mysteries. They begin with Babylon Berlin (Titan Comics), Arne Jysch's comics adaptation of Volker Kutscher's noir prose novel. It takes place in 1929 Berlin and set in the Weimar Republic, with all of its historical and cultural contexts embedded within. The guys are very impressed with Jysch and Kutscher's narrative, and they spend a lot of time not only discussing the work as an example of crime noir, but also the issues involved in adapting a text from one medium to another (including the recent Netflix series). Next, they look at Rick Geary's latest efforts, The True Death of Billy The Kid (NBM Graphic Novels). This began as a Kickstarter campaign back in 2014, and in many ways it follows the format of Geary's true crime comics. Indeed, both Derek and Gene are big fans of Geary's art and his handling of the history and research surrounding infamous deeds. This is not a biography of Billy the Kid, but true to the book's title, it focuses on the days that lead up to the death of this legendary figure. Finally, the Two Guys turn their attention to The Highest House #1 (IDW Publishing). Released in conjunction with the French publisher Glénat Editions, this brings back together Mike Carey, Peter Gross, and Yuko Shimizu, the creative team that brought us The Unwritten. This story is more of an overt fantasy than the previous series. The inaugural issue sets a solid foundation for Carey's world building, and as both Gene and Derek observe, the larger album format allows a full display of Gross's marvelous art.