The Tradewaiters

In episode 18 Jeff, Angela, and Kathleen are joined by special guest Sfé R. Monster for the first of a two-episode break-down of "The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For" by Alison Bechdel. Our panelists have opinions on everything from Star Trek to page layouts, and from Trump to TERFs. You won’t want to miss a beat. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will continue the discussion on "The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For" by Alison Bechdel.

Episode 17 is our “CAF” episode! Join Jon, Jeff, Kathleen, Angela, and special guest Sfé R. Monster as they share some of the best new comics they found at TCAF and VanCAF 2016. In this episode our panelists talk about: "When You Grow Up" by Ma’at Crook, "My Sister’s Voice" by Alexis Sugden, "Clear Quartz" by Joamette Gil, "(Tr)Eat Yoself" by Wai Khan, "Before the Snows Come" by Kat Verhoeven, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson & Troy Little, "Friends and Food Stories" by Joslin Chan, Roberta Chang, and Sylvia Chan, "Desolation" by Jade McGilvray, "Journey to Oz" by Arianna Mao, "Four Fables" by Maëlle Doliveux, "Sky Gods" by Leda Zawacki, "Don’t Talk to Me or I’ll Set Myself on Fire" by Jane Mai & An Nguyen, "Hotel Positano" by Levi Hastings, "Agents of the Realm" by Mildred Louis, "Sad Boy Comix" by Mike Dawson, "Version 002" by Jake Wyatt, "Late Bloomer" by Maré Odomo, "Twins" by Kiku Hughes, "The Nameless City" by Faith Erin Hicks, and "Escargoteric" by Johnny Herber. Music by Sleuth

In episode 16 Jon, Jeff, Kathleen, and special guest Jess Pollard continue the discussion of "Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind" by Hayao Miyazaki with volume 2 (or the second half, depending on what printing you have). The TradeWaiters get philosophical as this manga master-work leads us down roads to nihilism, zen buddhism, relativism, absolutism, pacifism, and existential terror. Welcome to funny books, everybody. Music by Sleuth. Our next book will be "Dykes to Watch Out For" by Alison Bechdel, but our next episode will be an afterword on TCAF and VanCAF 2016, coming out on June 10th.

In episode 15 Jon, Jeff, and Kathleen are joined by special guest Jess Pollard to talk about the first half of "Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind," the manga series by world-reknowned animator Hayao Miyazaki. This is an incredibly dense work and we have a lot to say about it! But the true purpose of the Sea of Corruption isn't the only secret conspiracy that this episode will reveal... Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover the second half of "Nausicaa."

In this episode we continue to read through Marvel’s "Jessica Jones: Alias" by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos, with volumes 3 and 4. We talk about the tricky dance of words and pictures in this series, hypothesize about a Marvel non-comics AU, dis the Savage Land, compare non-canon doujinshi on Wolverine, and discuss post-renaissance mannerism. Oh, and the Jessica Jones Netflix series gets some airtime too. Come with us, on a journey, with your pals, the TradeWaiters. Music by Sleuth. Episodes 15 and 16 will be another two-part series, on the first and second halves (respectively) of Hayao Miyazaki’s "Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind."

We’re trying something different! Episode 13 of the TradeWaiters will cover the first two trade paperbacks of Marvel’s "Jessica Jones: Alias" by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos, and then episode 14 will cover volumes 3 and 4. "Alias" being a Marvel book, it’s a hard sell for some of the TradeWaiters, but we get in pretty deep with the book’s pros and cons. If you’re a comics reader, a comics maker, or just a fan of the Netflix adaptation, give us a listen and decide for yourself. Music by Sleuth. The next episode will continue the series with volumes 3 & 4 of "Jessica Jones: Alias" by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos.

In episode 12 the TradeWaiters read "Nimona" by Noelle Stevenson, a subversive fantasy graphic novel. In addition to all four panelists gushing over this book, you can get the inside scoop on Jonathon crying in restaurants, what Kathleen really thinks of spoiler warnings, and roll your eyes at yet another imperfect Kindle comic. Music by Sleuth. The next episode will cover volumes 1 & 2 of "Jessica Jones: Alias" by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos.

For today’s episode Jon, Jeff, Angela, and Kathleen read the first two volumes of Dark Horse’s translation of "Astro Boy" by the godfather of manga, Osamu Tezuka. Travel back in time with us to the dawn of modern Japanese comics, and then forward again to the distant future of the year 2000 and the dawn of the age of robotics. Tune in for an in-depth discussion of the pros and cons of butt guns, cartoon dog cars, and angry eyes. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover "Nimona" by Noelle Stevenson.

In Episode Eight, the Tradewaiters discuss "Tekkon Kinkreet: Black & White" by Taiyo Matsumoto. Jon, Jeff, Angela, and Kathleen have a lot of opinions on how best to adapt manga to an English-speaking audience, Kathleen has some positive words for past-Kathleen, and Angela has some strong opinions on “historical neon.” Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will be on "Essex County" by Jeff Lemire.

In Episode 7 Our panel talks about Two Generals by Scott Chantler, a comics biography of the author’s grandfather’s experiences in the Second World War. Listen to find out what everyone’s grandparents did during the war (spoiler alert: ONE of the tradewaiters’ grandparents were too young to do much of anything), and to find out what it takes to get Angela’s husband to care about comics. Consider this our Rememberance Day episode. Music by Sleuth. The next episode will cover Tekkon Kinkreet: Black and White by Taiyo Matsumoto.

In episode 6, Jon, Jeff, Angela, and Kathleen talk about the first two trade paperbacks of Marvel Comics’ "Ms. Marvel," written by G. Willow Wilson and drawn by Adrian Alphona and Jake Wyatt. Be amazed as Kathleen goes through a magical transformation sequence! Feel sorrow when you hear about Jonathon’s messy break-up with the X-Men! If you’re a person who thinks you don’t like superheroes, this might be the book to try reading. Music by Sleuth Next episode will cover Two Generals by Scott Chantler.

n Episode Five, Jonathon, Jeff, Angela, and Kathleen read Mail Order Bride by British Columbian comicker Mark Kalesniko. For once the TradeWaiters can’t agree on whether this is a book worth reading. We are all adults, though, (most of us), so no friendships were ruined in the making of this episode. Read the book for yourself, listen to the episode, and decide what you think. Music by Sleuth. Next episode will be volumes 1 and 2 of Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona, and Jake Wyatt.

In episode four, Jonathon, Jeff, Kathleen and Angela read Broken Telephone, an e-book written by Ryan Estrada and drawn by him and a “lineup of accomplices.” Each chapter follows the hero of one story who will inevitably become the villain of the next. In this episode, Angela uses the word “fascinating” like three times in a row, and Jeff does his best pitch to get paid by Wacom. Music by Sleuth. Our next episode will cover Mail Order Bride by Mark Kalesniko.

In Episode 3 of the TradeWaiters, Jon, Jeff, Angela and Kathleen read One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry, an "autobifictionalography." Kathleen calls Lynda Barry one of her "must-read cartoonists." Maybe by the end you will want to spend some time with your own demons. Music by Sleuth Next episode will cover Broken Telephone written by Ryan Estrada.

In episode 10, Jon, Jeff, Angela, and Kathleen read "Voice" from Carla Speed McNeil's celebrated science fiction series "Finder." This volume covers Rachel Grossvenor's rocky initiation into the image-conscious clan of her mother and grandmothers, and how the hardest thing to find is a finder. Also in this episode, someone makes the mistake of letting Jon talk about Star Trek, and Kathleen contemplates switching to reading books digitally (gasp!). Music by Sleuth Episode 11 will be volumes 1 & 2 of Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka (I'm still posting these episodes out of order, sorry, I'll fix that when I can).

Due to technical difficulties on our main website, this episode is being released out of order! Oh no! On episode 9, Jon, Jeff, Angela, and Kathleen read "Essex County" by Jeff Lemire, another giant of Canadian independent comics. Tune in to find out what we think about hockey, history, and small-town Ontario. We've also got Christmas gift recommendations (all comics, of course), and more. Music by Sleuth. Episode 10 will cover "Finder: Voice" by Carla Speed McNeil.

In episode 2, Jon, Jeff, Angela, and Kathleen read "This One Summer" by super Canadian comicker cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki.

In episode 1, Jon, Jeff, Kathleen and Angela read "Seconds" by Bryan Lee O'Malley.

In Episode Zero, you can listen to Jonathon Dalton, Kathleen Gros, Angela Melick, and Jeff Ellis as we discuss how the series is going to proceed and what we plan to accomplish with it. In typical TradeWaiter fashion, we have lots of opinions but are too busy to waste time being indecisive!