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We all know the basic story. Kid has troubled relationship with father. Kid wants to win father’s approval. Kid sells soul to a demon in order to get the ability to impress said father. Sometimes the fun isn’t in figuring out where the story is going, it’s in figuring out how the story is going to get there.

That’s why we have Allen Dunford here to help take a look at this Faustian tale of  woe, promises, and what it takes to twist a deal to be in your favor no matter what. And while you’re at it, be sure to check out the Kickstarter page for Pocus Hocus #3 and get in on the fun for yourself.Continue Reading

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Eventually we had to take a look at the world of kids and little monsters that fight. For a lot of people this was their first foray into the world of manga and anime. But we didn’t know that, and we probably wouldn’t have cared at all if we did. There were kids just like us that got to play around with these amazing creatures that we all wish we could have as a pet.

That’s right, we’re talking Digimon with Michael Shea from The Basement Lounge about that show I definitely didn’t try to make you think was that other anime about monsters fighting each other. Which I’m realizing now doesn’t narrow things down enough at all.Continue Reading

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Regrets, we all have them. Whether it’s a typo noticed too late on a work email, a spoonful of salt in a cup of tea instead of sugar or a morning wasted trying to think of a third example for a throwaway bit at the start of a review, we all have things we wish we could go back and change. But what if you could go back and fix those mistakes? What if you could ensure you had the future you always dreamed of? And how much would you be willing to sacrifice to get it?Continue Reading

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Some of my favorite stories are the ones where I’m plopped into a new world and have to figure things out with the characters. Ones where you’re not spoon fed all the information and get exposition that makes sense or have it outside of the story itself (ie footnotes or something). And putting it with a story about extended wars from other worlds and people trying to escape so their family doesn’t get caught up in it without an escape? Yeah go ahead and sign me up for that.

Erica Schultz has that part of writing down. Which is really good because it means I can get lost in the story of Forgotten Home and not distracted by stupid exposition that you know wouldn’t actually happen in real life. Plus, and I say this totally seriously, possibly some of the best advice I’ve been given yet about how to get into comics.Continue Reading

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Motorcycles and music and witches and the beasts that hunt them. All spread across the Texas desert. It might not be for kids, but it’ll definitely make the kid inside you really happy.Continue Reading

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One of the best things about comics is that things can sit in the background for years before they become important. Maybe it’s just a throwaway line about an adventure some characters had. Maybe it’s something as silly as a character not liking carrots and then 10 years later it’s the crux of a story line. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s taking a character that’s been kind of stuck in the shadows and putting them in a position not only to get some of the spotlight, but also to bring other things out into the light that quit frankly should have been there a long time ago.

Now I’m not saying that if Stephanie Williams was just writing about Nubia’s dislike of a certain root vegetable she wouldn’t be on the show. But she’s taking Nubia and putting her in the center of a mini series called Nubia and the Amazons and making it about so much more than the character that happens to have a name in the title. And I don’t think I’m overselling it when I say that this series is really, really good.Continue Reading

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What’s Christmas without a little violence? No not the present throwing kind, I’m talking about full on Robot vs Santa showdowns with al the trimmings.

If you’re like me, you don’t want to experience it any other way now, and that’s why we have Steve Urena and Misty Graves here to tell us about X-Maschina, a comic set in way too close future about what happens when Santa has to fight robots and if that isn’t enough to get you excited then we need to have a talk.

Be sure to check out the Kickstarter campaign for X-Maschina.Continue Reading

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Reburn is set in a futuristic or alternative universe where AI, holograms and memory implants exist. We’re in the future baby! This is a dystopian story a la Brave New World: too shiny and everyone is just a bit too “unified.” There’s a giant pre-recorded hologram of their government leader that stands over the city at night, regaling the locals with her rhetoric. “We are one,” she says. Continue Reading

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It sucks that we live in a world where I have to be excited that something like The Color of Always exists. But we do, and I’m excited because more people need to see themselves in comics. Plus, like we say at least 57 gajillions times in the episode, the art is just beautiful.

You don’t have to take my word for it though. Brent Fisher and Michele Abounader can back me up on this one. Listen in as we take a look at this LGBTQIA+ love anthology that’s put together with…….ummm………. love I guess?Continue Reading

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Crowdfunding is always a gamble. But one thing that should be steady is how the platform works that you chose to use to get your project out into the world. Change and evolution are inevitable, but change for the sake of change often leads to rash decisions. Is the current Kickstarter situation an example of blunder playing out before our eyes? Or are a lot of people blowing things way out of proportion?Continue Reading

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Alright I promise that this isn’t a Legacy Comix podcast. Although I can see where some people might think that. But let’s get real Legacy is doing some great things right off the rip, and I couldn’t pass up the chance to talk to them again and get a different perspective from someone that isn’t Patrick. 

This time we’ve got John Svedese here to spill the beans on what’s going on, and we recorded it after the Kickstarter campaign started so there’s none of this nebulous “if things get funded” sort of nonsense.Continue Reading

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It’s time again to thank the people who have helped me make this show as great as it is, including but not limited to:

Really, just listen to the episode.

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Sometimes calling something a game is a rather strong use of the word. Especially when you’re looking at it through American eyes. Double especially back in the early to mid 1990s when we just didn’t really have the concept of visual novels over here.

Listen in as Nick Weaver, creator of the Thumbles comic on Webtoon, joins the show to help take a look at a portion of the gaming medium that we didn’t have much context for based on a manga that we also didn’t have much context for over on this side of the world.Continue Reading

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It takes a lot to get me this excited about a public domain character. Not that don’t think people should make Frankenstein or Sherlock Holmes things, but anyone can so there isn’t a novelty there.

So what does get me excited about these? A great creative team. A super unique concept as opposed to Yet Another Public Domain Character Story.

Or possibly getting to use the notes written by the creator of the property. Legacy Comix is bringing another banger to the table with bringing the Strokerverse into the fold.Continue Reading

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Sometimes books don’t have pictures. Or rather they have a few pictures that can’t in any way be considered a comic. But that doesn’t mean that those books are any less complicated than the art form we love over here at Play Comics. And with that comes a way for people to actually look things up without worrying about getting spoiled. Enter Spliki, the spoiler free wiki. I finally made the name connection while I was writing these show notes because I’m a dummy.

Good thing we have Brett from The Wheel Weaves podcast to help dig into why people should check out both this book series in particular, and the dangers of getting into a franchise that already has year and years and years and years and years of lore just waiting to be spoiled for you because the internet is a dangerous place.Continue Reading