450 - FCF: The Spire

For their latest Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo are exploring the world of Si Spurrier and Jeff Stokely’s 2015 mini-series The Spire. Our location is a massive, tiered city surrounded by a desolate wasteland; our cast of characters include privileged aristocrats and the undesired “Sculpted,” hybridized from human and animal DNA; and our story is one of noir sleuthing, extreme violence, racial intolerance, and classism. The boys discuss Spurrier and Stokely’s deceptively simple storytelling; the “soft edges” around their world-building; Stokely’s manga-influenced art; and just how in-spire-ing it all is. Plus, a number of previous FCF selections are hitting the small screen, including Y: The Last Man, The Sandman, and most unbelievably of all, Grendel.

NEXT: what’s that? It’s October? Time for Gobbledyween 2021. Our annual horror-fest kicks off with a discussion of Ti West’s 2009 indie phenom The House of the Devil, featuring our old pal Greg Sahadachny.

BREAKDOWN

00:00:51  -  Intro / Comics on TV banter

00:22:11  -  The Spire

01:34:42  -  Outro / Next

LINKS

• Netflix Orders Grendel Series Based On Dark Horse Comic With Abubakr Ali To Star, 8 More Cast by Alexandra Del Rosario, Deadline

• The Sandman First Look Teaser

• Strange Cities, Stranger Crimes and “Glorious Weirdness”: An Interview with Simon Spurrier on The Spire by Tobias Carroll, Paste

• World Building: Character and Color in Stokely and Spurrier’s The Spire by Alex Spencer, ComicsAlliance

• Not Controlling the Outcome: Si Spurrier and Jeff Stokely Talk The Spire by Keith Silva, Comics Bulletin

MUSIC

• “Gumshoe” by Penny & Sparrow, Finch (2019)
• “Fresh Tendrils” by Soundgarden, Superunknown (1994)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ 

• Support AAPI communities and those affected by anti-Asian violence: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
• Support the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund: https://aapifund.org/
• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• Advocate for writers who might be owed money due to discontinuance of royalties: https://www.writersmustbepaid.org/ 
• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/
• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/