Ma vie et tous ses ridicules petits à-côtés : mes émissions “CPU” sur Radio FMR, les standards web, le code et ce qui me passe par la tête.
…
continue reading
A leisurely walk through the history of comic books, one issue at a time. In each episode, I'll choose a single issue of a comic book (or comic book-like magazine) and talk about why the issue is important in the history of the medium, or particularly representative of a trend or a particular writer or artist's work, or is of significant aesthetic value. The first episode begins in the 1820s; the last episode, whenever that is, will be about a significant comic from the 2020s (or possibly th ...
…
continue reading

1
Episode #23: Colonialism in the Bandes Dessinées beginning with Alain Saint-Ogan's "Zig et Puce"
54:48
54:48
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
54:48ln this episode I use Alain Saint-Ogan's bande dessinée "Zig et Puce" as a springboad for a discussion of colonialism in the French bandes dessinées. I start, of course, with the 1814 Treaty of Paris and the 1814-1814 Congress of Vienna and proceed from there through the two French Colonial Empires, the mission civilatrice, the possible/likely body…
…
continue reading
In this episode I discuss the publication of Superman #1, the first comic book dedicated to the stories of one character. I talk about why this is significant, what DC Comics was probably thinking about when they published Superman #1, the issue's immediate success, why its contents are significant, how Superman #1 is the start of a major change in…
…
continue reading

1
500 Issues, the Juneteenth episode: Black Creators, Paraliterature, and Golden Age comic books
1:32:14
1:32:14
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:32:14To help celebrate Juneteenth, I made an episode in which I discuss Black creators of paraliterature, which (as I'm sure you know) is all of that literature which is not "respectable" or within the margins of "recognized literature." Naturally, there's too much to say to limit myself to only Black comics writers and artists, so I went back to the 17…
…
continue reading

1
Episode 21: The Early History of the Dutch Comics Industry
39:54
39:54
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
39:54In this episode I discuss the beginnings of the Dutch comics industry from 1493, when an imprisoned Dutch nobleman drew a comic strip in one of his letters, to March 15, 1940, when the Netherlands officially surrendered to the invading Germans in the Second World War. Along the way, I talk about Dutch racism--which lordalmighty is prevalent in pre-…
…
continue reading

1
Episode 20: Detective Comics #27 and the Batman
31:22
31:22
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
31:22In this epsiode I discuss Detective Comics #27, the issue in which Batman debuted. I talk about the background behind the creation of Batman, why Batman's original artist was a genuinely bad person, the various artists who contributed to Batman's success in the first decade or two of his existence, the various characters and texts which inspired th…
…
continue reading

1
Episode 19: "Don Catarino" and the Early Years of the Mexican Comic Book Industry
46:43
46:43
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
46:43In this episode I discuss the beginning and early years of the Mexican comic book industry, from its precursor among the Nahuatl-writing Mexica of the Aztec Empire to the appearance of Jose Tomas de Cuellar and Jose Maria Villasana's comic book Rosa y Federico to the Golden Age of Mexican comics in the 1930s. Along the way, I discuss some scholarly…
…
continue reading
In this episode I discuss Fox Comics' Wonder Comics #1, which featured the infamous Superman rip-off "Wonder Man." I talk about Victor S. Fox, the lawsuit that resulted from Wonder Comics #1, DC's Golden Age litigiousness, the heroic archetypes of the Golden Age, Shakespeare's sources for Hamlet, "Shoggoths in Bloom," the screen personae of Leslie …
…
continue reading

1
Episode 17: Dominguin #1 and the Beginning of the Spanish Comic Book Industry
36:46
36:46
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
36:46In this episode I discuss the early years of the Spanish comic book industry. I begin in the 1870s, after the downfall of Isabella II (Sexenio Democratico represent!), when loosened press laws led to, among other things, the first Spanish magazine to publish a comic strip. From there it's on to a litany of Spanish comics, some of which actually loo…
…
continue reading
In this episode I discuss the debut, in Detective Comics #20 (on-sale date Sept. 7, 1938), of the Crimson Avenger. I place the Crimson Avenger in the chronological context of the comics in which he appeared. I discuss my definition of what a superhero is, describe the seventeen elements which can make up a superhero, and discuss the fuzzy logic and…
…
continue reading
In this episode I discuss the British comic paper Favorite Comic #1 and why it's important: because it featured "Victor Brand," a series about the Sherlock Holmes-like detective Victor Brand and his intelligent monkey chauffeur, leg-man, bodyguard, and general assistant Jacko. I discuss the history of the portrayal of apes in Western culture, from …
…
continue reading
In this episode I describe the circumstances around the publication of Funny Pages #21, the people involved in its publication, what's inside it, and the sole important strip in the issue: the one introducing Paul Gustavson's The Arrow. The Arrow is a killer vigilante, so I discuss the cultural context for that. The Arrow is an angry killer vigilan…
…
continue reading
In this episode I describe the history of the Italian comics industry up until 1937. I begin with Cesare Lombroso, the famous criminologist, because of course I begin there. Why wouldn't I? I discuss his daughter Paola and her various contributions to society and good works, which happens to include being the person most responsible for the first I…
…
continue reading

1
Episode 12: "Tough is putting mildly the treatment you're gonna get!" Action Comics #1
27:18
27:18
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
27:18In this episode I discuss Action Comics #1 and its contents, including the fabulous new character find of 1938: Superman! I discuss what led up to the publication of Action Comics #1, how the mob and Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia were responsible for it, what the other strips besides "Superman" were in this issue and if they're any good (surprise--the Z…
…
continue reading

1
Episode 11: "The Placid Shores of the Ipiranga:" O Tico-Tico #1
37:11
37:11
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
37:11In this episode I discusss the origins of the Brazilian comic book industry, beginning with the arrival of an Italian immigrant in São Paulo in 1859, his success as the first Brazilian comic artist of note and his first two comic strips, how and why O Tico-Tico (Brazil's first comic book) was published, Richard Outcault & Buster Brown & their Brazi…
…
continue reading

1
Episode 10: "That's why I'm calling on Chang. He's helped me a lot on previous cases that have baffled me." Detective Comics #2.
29:25
29:25
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
29:25In this episode I discuss the people of color superheroes and sidekicks of comics' Golden Age, beginning with Detective Comics #2 (on-sale March 10, 1937) and ending with the last day of 1949, the end of the Golden Age. I discuss the long history of white Americans making people of color into heroes, starting with Crispus Attacks during the America…
…
continue reading
In this episode I sketch the history of the French comics industry from its beginning in the 19th century following Rodolphe Topffer's debut to 1939, when World War Two disrupted everything. I define "bandes dessinnées" (b.d.), I describe the four most successful artists who were influenced by Topffer and brought out proto-b.d. (Cham, Gustave Dore,…
…
continue reading

1
Episode Eight: “Are y’gonna talk or do I get the pleasure of splashin’ up the walls with your face?”: Detective Comics #1
40:55
40:55
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:55In this episode I go in-depth on Detective Comics #1 (Feb. 10, 1937), DC's first comic book issue. I also discuss the mob's involvement in comic book publishing, how DC would never have existed without Frank Costello, spicy pulps, why DC's first comic book was a detective comic, anti-Asian racism in comics, the history of detective fiction, how Ame…
…
continue reading

1
Episode Seven: "They called me mad in school, you know": Puck #1
39:41
39:41
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
39:41In this episode I describe the British comic Puck #1 and its mad scientist/wacky inventor, Professor Radium, who turns out to be more influential than one might suppose. I go in depth on the history of the mad scientist and the wacky inventor, with stops at Faustus of Mileve, Roger Bacon, Dante's Inferno, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, John Webster's …
…
continue reading

1
Episode Six: "Treachery on the Trail!" Star Ranger #1 & Western Picture Stories #1
1:03:10
1:03:10
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:03:10In this episode I discuss the history of the genre of the Western, beginning early in the 19th century as frontier fiction and proceeding up to the late-1930s, when the first two Western comic books--Star Ranger #1 and Western Picture Stories #1--were published. Among the topics discussed: frontier fiction of England, France, and Spain; James Fenim…
…
continue reading

1
Episode Five: "The Empire, Long Divided, Must Unite": The Story of the Three Kingdoms
30:30
30:30
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
30:30In this episode I describe the early history of the Chinese comic book industry--specifically the lianhuanhua industry--from its beginning in 1899 to its first end during the Cultural Revolution. I discuss the history of pictorial communication in pre-modern China; the influence of lithography on Chinese publishing; the Romance of the Three Kingdom…
…
continue reading

1
Episode Four: "The Clock!" "That is right, gentlemen--and striking just in time!" Funny Pages #6
28:57
28:57
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:57In this episode I go back to 1935 and 1936 and discuss how business was actually done in the early comics industry the rise of Comics Magazine Company Everett M. "Busy" Arnold's career in comics the unsavory intersection of "Busy" Arnold, Joe Paterno, and the realities of big-time college football in the 1930s Funny Pages #6, and why it's an import…
…
continue reading

1
Episode Three: In England's Green and Pleasant Land: Comic Cuts #1
44:28
44:28
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
44:28In which I take a look at British comics during the 19th century, talk about some of the notable and important people who were a part of it, and describe what led up to Comic Cuts #1, the most important British comic of the 19th century and the comic that set the standard for British comics for the next forty years. The transcript, complete with il…
…
continue reading

1
Episode Two: "A new cargo of mystery and thrills!" New Fun #1
26:15
26:15
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
26:15In which I briefly sketch the history of comics between Rodolphe Topffer and the 1930s, discuss the first comic books, and then describe New Fun #1, the first comic book that featured all new material rather than reprinted newspaper comic strips. I also discuss Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, the failson behind New Fun #1, and what makes New Fun #1 nota…
…
continue reading

1
Episode One: To Begin With: L'Histoire de M. Vieux Bois
36:45
36:45
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
36:45In which I begin the series by taking us back to Switzerland in the 1820s and 1830s and describe how Rodolphe Topffer, a Swiss teacher and caricaturist, invented the modern comic book. It's a bit more complicated than that, of course.By Jess Nevins
…
continue reading
Résumé de la soirée en moins de 3 minutes, en vidéo et sans le son. Ou alors avec le son, mais ça dure une heure, et vous n'avez pas les mêmes images. Radio Comme annoncé, on a fait une rentrée dans les normes : Au fin fond d'une zone industrielle, dans un célèbre lieu artistique, dans le double container d'un hackerspace. Et elle signe le début de…
…
continue reading