The Tradewaiters

On today’s episode Jeff, Jam, and Jon dive into the first volume of "Princess Jellyfish" by Akiko Higashimura. This is the first half of a two-part look at the world of the Amars otaku and the gender-bending “stylish” who invades their lives. It’s pretty hard to be compulsively obsessed with jellyfish (or trains or kimonos or old men or BL manga or The Three Kingdoms) when the outside world keeps busting down the door. Join us from the safety of your hikkikomori nest! Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will be on the second volume of "Princess Jellyfish" by Akiko Higashimura

At last we’ve reached the end of our Scott Pilgrimage. Join Jess, Jam, Jeff, Jon, and Kgros as we finish off Bryan Lee O’Malley’s "Scott Pilgrim" with volumes 5 and 6. In this episode we talk about character arcs, throwaway plot twists, background artists, and More Kim Pine. If you’ve traveled with us this far, take our hand and jump into the void with us one more time. Also there was a movie based on this book. What’s the deal with that? Original music by Sleuth. Chip-tune adaptation by Beru. Our next episode will be on the first volume of "Princess Jellyfish" by Akiko Higashimura.

And now, we continue our “Scott Pilgrimage” through volumes three and four of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s "Scott Pilgrim." In this episode we go even deeper into the themes, scenes, and subspace highway dreams of a twenty-something slacker who’s not very good at playing the bass. We talk about evil exes, what it’s really like to be inside Honest Ed’s, and we finally get to find out what Jess thinks of this series. CONTINUE? Original music by Sleuth. Chip-tune adaptation by Beru. Our next episode will conclude the Pilgrimage with the fifth and sixth volumes of "Scott Pilgrim" by Bryan Lee O’Malley

GET READY! Today we start our three episode “Scott Pilgrimage” as Jon, Jeff, kgros and Jam read the first two volumes of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s "Scott Pilgrim." These books changed comics, and they changed each of our panelists. Join us as we talk about video game literacy, female coming-of-age stories, breaking the fourth wall, Can-con, garbage twenty-somethings, and how one of us used to have Bryan Lee O’Malley’s blog as her homepage. Today, today we’re all Scottaholics. BEGIN. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will continue the Pilgrimage with the third and fourth volumes of "Scott Pilgrim" by Bryan Lee O’Malley

Today’s TradeWaiters covers "Shadoweyes" by Sophie Campbell. With Jess mysteriously absent (someone start putting up missing person posters!) it’s left to Jam, Jon, Jeff, and kgros to dive deep into this dense, indie graphic novel. We test the limits of what counts as a superhero comic, discuss the “slow burn friendship drama,” remember the nineties, and talk about the shady, short past of some defunct publishers. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will be on volumes one and two of "Scott Pilgrim" by Bryan Lee O’Malley

Join us once again as Jess, Jam, Jon, and Jeff finally decide who the Last Cartoonist will be while we read volumes three and four of "Last Man" by the French team Balak, Sanlaville, and Vivès. Gaze in amazement as we do the mental gymnastics necessary to sort out this weird, fun, genre-mashup (but not trope-destroying) comic about ultimate fighters from a fantasy world. Or don’t, because, it’s a podcast and there’s nothing to look at. Caution: this comic, and our discussion about it, spend a not-insignificant amount of time talking about sexual assault. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will be on "Shadoweyes" by Sophie Campbell

In today’s Tradewaiters episode Jess, Jam, Jon, and Jeff read the first two volumes of "Last Man" by the French team Balak, Sanlaville, and Vivès. Join us on a strange journey through a martial arts fighting championship on another world where nothing is quite what it seems. Caution: this comic, and our discussion about it, spend a not insignificant amount of time on sexual assault. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover the third and fourth volumes of "Last Man" by Balak, Sanlaville, and Vivès. Only one Man must remain!

Join Jess, Jam, Jon, Jeff, and kgros for another episode of the TradeWaiters. We read "Wendy" and "Wendy’s Revenge" by Walter Scott, a gritty tale of post- art school drama told in a super indie style. Come for the insightful comics discussion, stay for the totally stealable gallery show concepts. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover the first two volumes of "Last Man" by Balak, Michael Sanlaville, and Bastien Vives.

Today on the TradeWaiters, we jumped head-first into some shoujo manga with the first two volumes of "Your Lie in April" by Naoshi Arakawa. Join us as we immerse ourselves in classical music, middle school romance, family drama, and the fine art of panel-to-panel transitions. We also officially welcome Jess Pollard as our fifth podcast panelist! Music by Sleuth Our next episode will cover "Wendy" and "Wendy's Revenge" by Walter Scott.

This week on The Tradewaiters, The Fifth Tradewaiter (a.k.a. Jess Pollard) joins us to talk about "Vattu: The Name and the Mark" by Evan Dahm. This is the first volume in print of Evan’s epic webcomic project. Listen to us chat about how much we love his work, but more importantly, the reasons WHY we love it and why you should too. We’ve got a lot to say about webcomics in general this episode. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover volumes 1 and 2 of "Your Lie in April" by Naoshi Arakawa.

The Tradewaiters are back! Jess Pollard joins Jon, Jeff, Jam, and kgros for a discussion on "Paper Girls" volumes 1 & 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang. Join us as we talk about eighties nostalgia, book design, the pacing in floppies, “progressive edgy,” and Matt Wilson’s gorgeous colours. EDIT: Jonathon would like to apologize for mixing up Warren Ellis and Frank Miller. Minus ten points from Hufflepuff for such a slanderous error. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover volume one of "Vattu" by Evan Dahm.

In this episode we read "Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life" by Austrian cartoonist Ulli Lust. This comic follows the artist’s real life journey from Austria to Sicily with no money, no passport, and no friends. It’s a heavy book in terms of both physical weight and emotional content. Join us, we’ve got lots to talk about! Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover the first two volumes of "Paper Girls" by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang.

On today’s Tradewaiters we read "Aya" written by Marguerite Abouet and drawn by Clément Oubrerie. Special guest Jess Pollard joins us again while Angela is away. Our first formal foray into bande dessinée, "Aya" follows the chaotic love lives of three young women in 1970s Ivory Coast. This book was a lot of fun! Join us as we share our thoughts. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover volumes 1 & 2 of "Bone" by Jeff Smith.

Special guest Jess Pollard returns to the TradeWaiters studio for "Americus" by M.K. Reed and Jonathan Hill. She proceeds to get Socratic on the group as we discuss censorship, culture wars, and comics. Meanwhile, we confirm the existence of actual IRL TradeWaiters listeners, and everyone’s got an opinion on a certain ultra-popular young adult fantasy book series. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover "Aya" by Marguerite Abouet and Clemente Oubrerie.

Stuff is bad right now. Let’s read a book! In this episode Jon, Jeff, Angela, and kgros read "Sacred Heart" by Liz Suburbia, about a group of punk teens surviving in a town that seems to have no adults. Spoiler alert: something mysterious is going on. Also in this episode you’ll find out our panelists’ favourite conspiracy theories, and our thoughts on depicting atmospheric sound in comics. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover "Americus" by MK Reed and Jonathan Hill.

For today's episode our panelists read "Cul de Sac: This Exit" by Richard Thompson, the "last great newspaper comic." After Richard's passing earlier this year and the dire state of newspapers in general, we may not see his kind again. We also discuss the documentary "Stripped" directed by Dave Kellett, the "tell, don't show" approach to making comics, which part of southern Ontario is the most dire, and the similarity between kgros and Petey Otterloop. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover "Ghosts" by Raina Telgemeier.

Voila! Let us next volunteer "V for Vendetta," the volume by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. But are they visionaries viewing behind the veil, or vandals giving voice to violence? Join Jonathon, Jeff, Angela, and kgros as we debate the merits and shortcomings of this dark and gritty and deeply political graphic novel. The discussion ranges from violence against women and anarchy as a lifestyle, to a movie with the same name and an internet movement with the same face. But don’t worry, we still have time to talk about the fan fic possibilities and our favourite spiral staircases. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover "Cul de Sac: This Exit" by Richard Thompson.

Our Bakumanathon continues! We read the third and fourth volumes of "Bakuman" by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata and we invite you to join us as we check in with how our boys Mashiro and Takagi are doing in their quest for manga greatness. Also on deck are some in depth discussions of the differences between the North American and Japanese comics industries, and how to make sure comics only breaks your heart, not your hands. Our panelists agree, middle school marriage pacts and comics careers don’t mix. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover "V for Vendetta" by Alan Moore and David Lloyd.

Episode 20 begins our Bakumanathon! Our TradeWaiters read the first two volumes of "Bakuman" by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, and it filled them with a determination to share their opinions. Find out what they really think about the Japanese manga industry, the Shonen Jump editorial process, middle school cartoonists, and Pure Romance. Making comics will break your heart, but listening to this episode will not! Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover the next two volumes of "Bakuman" by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, volumes 3 and 4. The Bakumanathon continues!

Episode 19 continues the discussion from our previous episode on "The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For" by Alison Bechdel. Jeff, Angela, and Kathleen are once again joined by special guest Sfé R. Monster while Jonathon is busy doing work or something. Don’t let the lengthy discussion on long-running Canadian TV franchises at the start of the episode fool you, this episode gets in-depth with a seminal comics work, with politics, representation, and life in general. A melancholy time was had by all. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover at least the first two volumes of "Bakuman" by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, with the episode after that covering at least two more volumes. We’re doing a marathon Bakumathon.