Episodes
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eps. 134: Gutter-Takes: Making Webcomics at the End of the World
This episode was inspired by the essay Evan Dahm included at the end of his book "3rd Voice: 1st Passage," which is what our next episode will be about. His essay got us thinking about the material conditions of cartooning, how we got here, and how to keep making comics when all our…
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eps. 133: "Marvel Knights Daredevil" #38-50 by Bendis, Maleev, and Accomplices
And now, the thrilling continuation of "Marvel Knights Daredevil" numbers 38 to 50 by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, Manuel Gutierrez, Terry and Rachel Dodson, and Matt Hollingsworth. We have lots more to say about Daredevil; but also owl physiology, classical Chinese philosophers, the…
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eps. 132: Marvel Knights Daredevil #26-37 (Underboss) by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev
In Hell’s Kitchen there stalks a devil. And that devil is Marvel Comics’ trade paperback numbering system. No. For this episode we read issues 26 to 37 of Marvel Knights Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. Come with us and spend some time with the comics that set the tone for…
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eps. 131: "Flip" by Ngozi Ukazu
The Tradewaiters return with a new book to read. "Flip" by Ngozi Ukazu is a new twist on a “Freaky Friday” storyline. Chi-Chi and Flip switch bodies, and must experience race, gender, class, and their own mental health and personal hang-ups while living in each other’s shoes. We’ll talk about the...
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eps. 130: Gutter-Takes: The Zine Episode
On today’s Gutter-Take, Jam, Jeff, and JD talk about zines! Zines are back. They never left. We talk about their history, their future, and the many roles they can play in your life. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will be on "Flip" by Ngozi Ukazu.
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REPOST: "The Complete Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi
With the recent passing of Marjane Satrapi, we are reposting this episode from 2018 that we recorded with Kathlees Gros and Jess Pollard about "The Complete Persepolis." Marjane shared several stories with the world in a few different media during her life, but Persepolis in particular is a…
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eps. 129: "Hello Sunshine" by Keezy Young
We’re back with the weighty graphic novel "Hello Sunshine" by Keezy Young, a book that weaves together one person’s mental health crisis with supernatural horror in a way that is simultaneously smart, original, and respectful. This book is a lot more than just “Scooby-Doo, but serious.” Be…
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eps. 128: "Everything Is Fine" by Mike Birchall
The TradeWaiters return with an old friend, Jess Pollard, as she gets us to read the first two seasons of the Webtoon "Everything Is Fine" by Mike Birchall. This comic might seem cute and simple, but don’t let the “Hello Kitty” faces fool you. This is a story about existential dread, paranoia…
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eps. 127: The Tradewaiters VS Panel Pals Crossover Part 1
It’s a (winter) summer crossover spectacular! For this episode Jeff and JD were joined by Jack and Diane of the Panel Pals podcast to read "Minus" by Ryan Armand and "Sweet Poolside" by Oshimi Shuuzou. And then you can continue the crossover over on the Panel Pals podcast for part 2 later this...
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eps. 126: "Kingdom Come" by Mark Waid and Alex Ross
Come with us to the future of the past as we read "Kingdom Come," written by superhero powerhouse Mark Waid and painstakingly painted by Alex Ross. This dark vision of the future of DC superheroes might be a commentary on the grim-dark comics of the 1990s, or it might be an excuse to get all of...
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eps. 125: Gutter-Takes: On Making Friends in Comics
On today’s Gutter-Take, Jam, Jeff, and JD talk about how to make friends in comics. Maybe the real comics were the friends we made along the way. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will be on Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross.
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eps. 124: "Home by the Rotting Sea" by Otava Heikkilä
This week we read "Home by the Rotting Sea" by Finnish cartoonist Otava Heikkilä, a short but emotional journey to another world where the Arctic is melting and gender is what you make of it. We’ll talk about anthropology, allegory, and Otava’s unique page compositions. We’ll also talk about the...
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eps. 123: "The Rose of Versailles" Vol. 1 by Riyoko Ikeda
This week Jam, Jeff, and JD went back in time to read "The Rose of Versailles" Vol. 1 by Riyoko Ikeda, one of the foundational works of all shoujo comics. Get into your Versailles mindset (Versaind-set) for some gorgeous dresses, elegant balls, murder, and class warfare. Listen in so as to put…
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eps. 122: Gutter-Takes: On the Arrival of Manga
On today’s Gutter-Take, Jam, Jeff, and JD talk about manga. What’s it like to read manga for the first time? What was it like for manga to be widely available in North America for the first time? And what have been the lasting impacts on both readers and creators alike of manga’s English-language...
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eps. 121: "Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir" by Tessa Hulls
Today’s book is weighty. We read "Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir" by Tessa Hulls. This book follows the lives of Tessa’s grandmother, mother, and herself through some of the most difficult periods of Chinese history in the first half of the twentieth century, as well as the mental illness and...
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eps. 120: "Blurry" by Dash Shaw
In today’s episode we discuss "Blurry" by Dash Shaw, a nesting onion of vignettes of the lives of people facing indecision. Follow along as we fight our way through the fog and find out how they’re all connected. Take a delicious detour with us as we pick apart the mechanics of how this comic is...
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eps. 119: The Cartoonist Co-Op Minicomic Awards 2025
The Minicomic Awards are back, and we’re here to celebrate them! For this episode, Jam, Jeff, and JD read as many of the winning comics as we could get our hands on, and some of the nominees as well. Here are the winners: Ratgirl by STC09 Scoot by Cam McCafferty The Pool by Leda Zawacki…
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eps. 118: Gutter-Takes: On Comics-Work-Life Balance
On today’s Gutter-Take, Jam, Jeff, and JD talk in-depth about our experiences seeking balance between making comics, having a day job, and getting a life. If you’re an artist here’s your chance to learn from our mistakes and match your priorities to your lifestyle. Music by Sleuth. Our next…
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eps. 117: "Banned Book Club" by Kim Hyun Sook, Ko Hyung-Ju, & Ryan Estrada
For this episode our panel read "Banned Book Club" by Kim Hyun Sook, Ko Hyung-Ju, and Ryan Estrada. This book follows Hyun Sook's adventures as a young revolutionary during South Korea's Fifth Republic dictatorship. Because irony is dead, this book has in turn faced book bans of its own. Join us…
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eps. 116: "The Amazing Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt" by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck
We’re going back to 1987 to read "Kraven’s Last Hunt" by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck, which collects issues from The Amazing Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man, and Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man. This is a classic capes and tights story about how some men will fight a decade-long battle to...
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eps. 115: Gutter-Takes: On Finding Webcomics
It’s time for another Gutter-Take. Webcomics are harder to find than ever. Or is it the opposite? Where do you find your webcomics, and how do you get readers to find yours? Jeff, Jam, and JD have questions and also answers. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will be on "The Amazing Spider-Man:...
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eps. 114: "Our Dreams at Dusk" Vol. 3&4 by Yuhki Kamatani
Our panellists are back with volumes 3 and 4 of "Our Dreams at Dusk" by Yuhki Kamatani. This time we get to talk about all the characters in depth, including matters of life, death, marriage, and friendship. We finish off the series knowing a lot more about the characters, but not everything! We...
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eps. 113: "Our Dreams at Dusk" Vol. 1&2 by Yuhki Kamatani
This week Jam, Jeff, and JD read the first two volumes of "Our Dreams at Dusk" by Yuhki Kamatani. As Jeff says in the episode, this is a deep dive into queer culture in Japan that celebrates the importance of community and third spaces. Join us as we visit the town of Onomichi, with its cats and...
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eps. 112: Gutter-Takes: On Distribution
We’re doing something different for this episode. In between our regular panels on great graphic novels lies the gutter (get it?). And in the gutter this week, Diamond Distributors, who once held a monopoly on delivering comic books to readers, just filed for bankruptcy. What does this mean for...
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eps. 111: "O Human Star" Vol. 2&3 by Blue Delliquanti
We’re back to read volumes 2 and 3 of "O Human Star" by Blue Delliquanti. This time we get into the trans text and subtext of the series, how metaphor and text support each other, and break down the main characters to see what makes them tick. We’ve got an alternate political universe, a true AI...
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eps. 110: "O Human Star" Vol. 1 by Blue Delliquanti
This episode is on the first volume of "O Human Star" by Blue Delliquanti. Read the webcomic and then listen to our thoughts on planning a webcomic, the best uses of science fiction, and the unique advantage that a limited colour palette has for comics. Fair warning we spend like half of this...
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eps. 109: "As the Crow Flies" by Mel Gillman
For this episode on "As the Crow Flies," by Mel Gillman, Jam, Jeff, and JD are joined by Ryan Estrada. We talk about one of Ryan’s favourite banned books. Is this a thoughtful story of alienation, doubt, microaggressions, and faith? Or is it, as one book banner summed it up, just “gender chaos?”...
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eps. 108: "Thunderbolts" Vol. 1 by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley, Part 2
This week we return to "Thunderbolts Volume 1: Justice, Like Lightning," by Kurt Busiek, Mark Bagley, Sal Buscema, Peter David, Mike Deodato Jr., Steve Epting, and others. We look deeper into the main cast of the series, and propose a wish list of changes (thirty years too late). We’ll see…
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eps. 107: "Thunderbolts Vol. 1: Justice, Like Lightning: by Kurt Busiek & Mark Bagley
This is the first part of a two-parter on "Thunderbolts Volume 1: Justice, Like Lightning," by such people as Kurt Busiek, Mark Bagley, Sal Buscema, Peter David, Mike Deodato Jr., and Steve Epting. We brave the Marvel Universe in the mid 90s to ask important questions like, what happens when a…
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eps. 106: "The Jellyfish: by Boum
This week Jam, Jeff, and JD read "The Jellyfish" by Boum. This BD fresh out of Montreal publisher Pow Pow follows Odette, a character whose vision is being increasingly obscured by a swarm of jellyfish. It’s a story with a lot of depth and heart, and some great cartooning. We’ll talk about the...
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eps. 105: "My Aunt Is a Monster" by Reimena Yee
For this week’s episode we read "My Aunt Is a Monster" by Reimena Yee, whose unique and thoughtful approach to cartooning gave us lots to talk about, from panel transitions to world-building to colouring. This is a unique book and a welcome addition to the YA graphic novel canon. Music by Sleuth....
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eps. 104: "Roaming" by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki
Join Jam, Jeff, and JD for another episode of the TradeWaiters. This time we read "Roaming" by Canadian paragons of cartooning Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki. It’s a story of three young women visiting New York and discovering themselves, and in true Tamaki fashion, pushes the medium of comics…
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eps. 103: The Cartoonist Co-op 2024 Mini-Comic Awards
For today’s episode we look at the winners of the Cartoonist Co-op 2024 Mini-Comic Awards: "Fancies" by Alex Cara, "Marrow A.K.A. Rodney’s Law" by Sloane Hong, "Crossed Signals" by Narrenstrich, "Bottom’s Up!" by Barbara Benas, and "The Bird Daughters" by Madeline McGrane. We’ll talk about the...
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eps. 102: "Nancy" by Olivia Jaimes
The TradeWaiters are back and ready to join the Nancy Renaissance! We read the first print collection of "Nancy" by Olivia Jaimes, and weigh in on the new artist who has taken over an ancient but venerated comic strip. Spoiler: Olivia Jaimes is lit, and you’re wrong if you think otherwise. We...
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eps. 101: Comics Reinvented: The Next 100 Years
After much delay, we can finally bring you episode 101 of the TradeWaiters. This time we’re putting ourselves on the spot, and talking about our hopes and fears for the present and future state of comics. This is a continuation of our discussion from last episode on Scott McCloud’s "Reinventing...
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eps. 100: "Reinventing Comics" by Scott McCloud
It’s episode 100! Special guest Kathleen Gros rejoins the TradeWaiters to help us celebrate our anniversary, and we read Scott McCloud’s "Reinventing Comics." This book made bold predictions of what the future of comics could be. More than twenty years later, we revisit Scott’s ideas to see where...
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eps. 99: "Dragman" by Steven Appleby
For this episode our intrepid TradeWaiters read "Dragman" by Steven Appleby. This hefty graphic novel cloaks a story about gender identity, predatory capitalism, and being true to yourself in a brightly-coloured superhero costume and sends it out to patrol the streets of London. Join us and…
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eps. 98: "Witch Hat Atelier" Vol. 1&2 by Kamome Shirahama
Today the Tradewaiters got lost in a fantasy manga with the first two volumes of "Witch Hat Atelier" by Kamome Shirahama. We’ll break down what’s great about this comic, a few things that are maybe not as great, but mostly have a good time reading a book about kids who learn magic, and the magic...
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eps. 97: "Barefoot Gen" vol. 1&2 by Keiji Nakazawa
For this episode we read the first two volumes of "Barefoot Gen," Keiji Nakazawa's semi-autobiographical account of surviving the bombing of Hiroshima when he was six years old. "Barefoot Gen" is the best book about the worst thing. Be prepared for it to be super traumatic, but no other book is...
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eps. 96: "All-Star Superman" by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
The TradeWaiters return like the rising sun to bring you "All-Star Superman" by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. This limited series turned trade paperback takes us deeper into DC lore than we’ve ever gone before, and we bring you back tales of the unimaginable, opining on pacing, and the magic…
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eps. 95: "Mad Love" by Paul Dini & Bruce Timm
"Sparks" artist Nina Matsumoto joins our panelists to talk about "The Batman Adventures: Mad Love" by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. This was the first appearance of Harley Quinn in a comic and the origin story of one of DC’s most iconic characters today. We talk about the behind the scenes story of...
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eps. 94: "Descending Stories" Vol. 1&2 by Haruko Kumota
Are you ready for a tale of tragedy and unrequited love (probably)? Come, sit down, and gather round as we read "Descending Stories" by Haruko Kumota. This series is “manga on hard-mode,” and is our first introduction to the Japanese art of rakugo, or “falling stories.” Join us as we struggle to...
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eps. 93: "Space Boy" Vol. 1&2 by Stephen McCranie
This week we read "Space Boy" by Stephen McCranie. Discussion (and spoilers) for the episode will cover either volumes 1 and 2 of the tankobon-sized graphic novels, or up to episode 32 of the Webtoon. We’ll spend half of the episode talking about the Webtoon format, and then get into this soft...
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eps. 92: "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist" by Adrian Tomine
This week we read "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist" by Adrian Tomine, diving deep into the most negative parts of one cartoonist’s psyche. We talk about the important place of “sad old man” comics in comics history, mumblecore, lonely book signings, and how cilantro salad is cringe...
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eps. 91: "Ducks" Part 2 by Kate Beaton
Jam, Jeff, and JD return to Alberta for the rest of Kate Beaton's "Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands." We still have lots to talk about as Kate survives her own journey of being metaphorically trapped in a tailings pond. We'll talk about resource extraction, Canadian history, late capitalism,...
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eps. 90: "Ducks" by Kate Beaton
Today’s episode takes Jam, Jeff, and JD to northern Alberta with Kate Beaton’s "Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands." Kate is better known for her comics making jokes about history, but "Ducks" IS history. This first-hand account of the time Kate spent working in, and surviving, the oil industry…
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eps. 89: "Mare Internum" by Der-Shing Helmer
This week Jam, Jeff, and JD read and talk about "Mare Internum" by Der-Shing Helmer. This is a character-driven sci-fi webcomic turned graphic novel that goes to some dark places in the belly of Mars. We’ll talk about dying climates, extraterrestrials, and our panelists’ complete lack of pioneer...
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eps. 88: Return to Planet Con
This year our panelists returned to their first convention in a very long time, VanCAF 2022, and walked away with some books worth sharing. We discuss "Prince of Cats" by Ronald Wimberly, "Mmm Syrup" and "Prayer of the Ninth House" by Tajliya Jamal, "Swim Team" by Johnnie Christmas, "Science…
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eps. 87: "Youtsuba&!" Vol. 1&2 by Kiyohiko Azuma
This week Jam, Jeff, and JD read "Yotsuba&!" by Kiyohiko Azuma, for a breath of fresh air and a story with the lowest stakes imaginable. We get into reliving childhood, the importance of a good translator, top tier comedic pacing, and ask who this comic is actually supposed to be for (Is it us?…
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eps. 86: "The Golden Age" Vol. 2 by Roxanne Moreil & Cyril Pedrosa
The TradeWaiters return with part two of "The Golden Age" by Roxanne Moreil and Cyril Pedrosa. Hannah Myers rejoins us after our long absence, and we check in on how Tilda is doing in her war to reclaim the throne of Antrevers. It turns out, she’s not doing great! Join us as we talk about what’s…
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