The TradeWaiters – Cloudscape Comics

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 prepared for spoilers (go read the book first), […]

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, and the death […]

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 week! Join […]

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 […]

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 You can find us at:J Dalton Jam Jeff Ellis Our next episode will be on Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. You can […]

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 censorship situation with Itch.io and […]

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 this work in […]

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 successes? Also […]

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 generational trauma that has bound […]

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 […]