Deconstructing Comics
Deconstructing Comics is a podcast about the craft of comics. Tim, Kumar, Emmet, and guest reviewers discuss a variety of comics (both recent work and classics) and present interviews with a variety of comics creators -- mainstream, indy, and even international! And in our occasional "Critiquing Comics" episodes, We'll even critique YOUR comic!
Whether you’ve got a comic going and you’re trying to promote it, or you haven’t even started yet and need some help getting rolling, we hope you’ll come here for inspiration and tips. And there’s plenty of interest for the casual comic book or graphic novel fan, as well!
"Tim is probably the hardest working podcaster in the community. He's an insightful and articulate comic reviewer and somebody I always enjoy talking to." -- Jason McNamara, writer, "The Rattler"
“Some of the best interviews I’ve ever heard! You guys review the type of comics I love and that’s really hard to find. So thanks for unique and knowledgeable.” -- Jack Wallace, Disposable Fiction Comics
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 62 minutes
- Episodes
- 111
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
Critiquing Comics #245: “Joe Mallard” 4-6 and “Dream Machine”
Joe Mallard, a favorite of Tim and Jason’s from a year ago, is back! Creator Asante Amani has sent us issues 4-6 of this crime series. Did it go over with us as well as the first two issues did?
Ky …
#850 “Fantastic Four: First Steps” (2025): Did it live up to the hype?
We’ve been building up to it for months with our reviews of previous Fantastic Four movies. Now it’s here, the FF’s debut in the MCU, Fantastic Four: First Steps. How well did it scratch that FF itc…
#849 “Almost Sunset”: Wahab Algarmi on growing up Muslim in America
This week, Koom interviews Wahab Algarmi, author of Almost Sunset, a graphic novel about a Muslim American boy’s search for balance between his family traditions and the demands of life in Middle Sc…
#848 “More Weight”: Ben Wickey talks Salem witch trials
Ben Wickey has created a graphic novel, More Weight: A Salem Story, that gives us a very deep dive into the Salem witch trials: why they happened, who was to blame, and how the city has dealt with t…
“Spider-Man 3” (2007)
The film is bloated, it’s busy, it showcases numerous failures at human communication, and doesn’t hit some points it needs to. And yet, Spider-Man 3 screenwriter Alvin Sargent managed to weave toge…
“Spider-Man 2” (2004)
To this day, Spider-man 2 is considered one of the best superhero movies. How does it stand up to Tim’s first viewing, after watching all the MCU movies that came after? What does Mulele notice abou…
“Spider-Man” (2002)
Tim and Mulele begin reviewing the Sony (pre-MCU) Spider-man movies with a look at 2002’s Spider-man, directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire. After watching all the MCU movies, how does th…
Critiquing Comics #244: “God Summoner” and “The Keluarga Cable Ship Company”
This week, a look at two great new comics submitted by their creators:
God Summoner, by Dio Zogaris and Manos Laouvardos, is a story in the fantasy genre. Tim and Jason thought “Meh” until they actu…
#780 Jim Shooter interview
FLASHBACK! Jim Shooter, who was Marvel Editor-in-Chief from 1978 to 1987, passed away on June 30. He wrote a number of comics published by Marvel (including the original Secret Wars series) and by a…
#847 “Angel and the Ape”: Forgotten, but not gone
In the 1960s, both Marvel and DC tried publishing humor books, often in a style reminiscent of MAD Magazine. One of these was DC’s Angel and the Ape, about a beautiful young woman and a comics-artis…
#846 Pow! Crack! Breaking down comics sound effects
#845 Jack Kirby’s “Cap and Falcon” 209-211: An Uncle Sam Person
While the last three issues of Captain America and the Falcon we looked at were rather underwhelming, issues 209 to 211 give us all the kooky science fiction and Kirby Crackle we could want! The app…
#844 The Fantastic Four on Film: “Fant4stic” (2015) pt 2: WTF does Doom want??
We conclude our look at 2015’s Fant4stic, directed by Josh Trank. Trank’s behavior on the set (and on Twitter) have been nothing but bad for his career, and studio meddling was nothing but bad for a…
#843 The Fantastic Four on Film: “Fant4stic” (2015) pt 1
Should a director re-interpret a property when nobody wanted it re-interpreted? 2015’s Fant4stic, directed by Josh Trank, turns getting superpowers into an exercise in body horror. Much of its inspi…
#842 Struggling with Kit Anderson’s “Second Shift”
After the (connected) short stories of Safer Places, Kit Anderson‘s new book is a full-on graphic novel called Second Shift (again from Avery Hill) which has gotten some breathlessly positive review…
#633 “Eileen Gray: A House Under the Sun”
FLASHBACK! Eileen Gray: A House Under the Sun is a slim graphic novel by Charlotte Malterre-Barthes and Zosia Dzierzawska, about the titular famous Irish architect that most people have never heard …
#841 Ken Krimstein on Einstein, Kafka, and comics in general
Ken Krimstein‘s Einstein in Kafkaland: How Albert Fell Down the Rabbit Hole and Came up with the Universe builds on the fact that these two stars of the early 20th century were part of the same frie…
#840 Joe Sacco’s books on the Middle East
Joe Sacco has been covering the Israel-Palestine conflict in varying forms since 1991: first in Palestine, then in Footnotes in Gaza, and most recently in War on Gaza. It’s too much for Kumar and Da…
#385 The Legacy of “Starman”
FLASHBACK! The 1990s DC series Starman is one of comicdom’s most fondly remembered series. Interestingly, says series author James Robinson, it seems to be more popular now than it was when it was a…
Critiquing Comics #243: “Fables of Fear” and “Black Plastic”
Fables of Fear is an anthology horror title by Karl Brandt and David Parsons. Tim and Adam discuss; there are some good short stories here, but maybe they’re a bit … TOO short?
Black Plastic, by Jos…