Scotch & Comics Update: RIP Apokolips

Well, it was bound to happen. My five year-old desktop computer, which I named Apokolips because of a long story (my laptop is New Genesis and my network is called The Source Wall) died on me on Friday night. The really BAD thing is that I was 20 minutes into recording an episode of Scotch & Comics at the time of the demise. No, really. (Remember that? It’s a podcast that I apparently do.) So currently, I find myself with a computer that can word process but not record, and a computer that can keep a lot of papers from blowing away.

I have a new desktop computer coming to me within the next week, limited by two factors:
1. Whenever it arrives at the depot.
2. Whenever I get my next paycheque.

So when that happens, I’ll set up the new system and record something. It’s hard getting drunk and reading comics, but I’ll do it. For science. And justice. And other things.

Anyhow. Just wanted to put an update out there, because I haven’t posted in a while. Hope everyone’s doing well, and hopefully I’ll have a new computer – and a new episode up! – in two weeks MINIMUM. And as a parting gift, here’s a photo of Batman kicking a dude while wearing Plastic Man as a boot . Don’t say I never did anything for you.

Wallpaper courtesy of The BatBlog.com

Scotch & Comics: Episode 009 – Nine Nine Nine Challenge

Question: The Greatest Legionnaire of All Time?

In this week’s episode of Scotch & Comics, host Devin R Bruce covers his time at the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, drinks some duty-free Glenfiddich, and talks about the 999 Reading Challenge. (And no, it’s got nothing to do with a Pokemon-loving former US Republican “contender.”) Then, he talks about why the first issue of Stumptown is a perfect crime comic AND waxes rhapsodic on the subject of Chuck Taine of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Short but sweet this week, there’s still plenty of Scotch & Comics to wet your whistles!

Show Notes

• This year’s Emerald City Comic Con was the tenth anniversary, and if next year’s is going to be anything like this year, I’ll be back for year eleven!
• The Glenfiddich website covers their whole range of whiskys; I’ve only ever had the 12, myself, but I hope to try more in the future.
• I know said I’d put up my ECCC sketches but my scanner is down; I’ll update the blog when I’ve worked out all the kinks.
• I’ll be podcasting about books I’m tackling during the 999 Challenge, but if you’re interested in following my capsule reviews, here’s the Scotch & Comics Tumblr.
• The musical interludes in this episode is from Kirby Krackle & Adam Warrock, two artists I have liked for a few years now and I got to see BOTH of them live during Kracklefest. Eugene (aka Adam Warrock) and Kyle (from Kirby Krackle) are really cool guys, from the brief conversations I’ve had with them, and you should legally acquire their music. By paying them for it. I know, it seems old-fashioned, but you’ll feel good about it.

Link: Episode 009 on Libsyn
Download: Scotch & Comics Episode 009
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Scotch & Comics: Episode 008 – Re-Peat Business

Rogue Trooper with his best friends and his combat gear.

 

Welcome back! In this eighth episode of Scotch & Comics, your host Devin R Bruce climbs on board the peat train thanks to a liberal dosage of the Ardbeg 10 Year Old Single Malt. Fortified by heavy doses of scotch that you could smell across the hall, he then leads a motley group of comics into the fray: The Hood from Marvel Comics’s Marvel MAX imprint, 2000AD’s Rogue Trooper, the third volume in Jeff Lemire’s Essex County trilogy from Top Shelf, and the first four issues of the  post-Crisis Justice League title from DC Comics. From war to sci-fi, superhero adventures to small-town crises, Scotch & Comics serves up one hell of a strong cocktail!

Show Notes
Happy Harbor Comics is one of the best comics stores in Edmonton. If you’re in town, you should visit.
The Malt Troll Whisky Club is a group founded for the enjoyment of and education regarding whisky. Again: if in town, attending one of their tastings is highly recommended.
Ardbeg Distillery. The place that smells like heaven.
I really do think Thor: Vikings by Garth Ennis & Glenn Fabry is Mavel MAX superheroics done right. Thor fighting undead Vikings who are trying to loot Manhattan. How can you lose?
The whole “Saliva Teeth” thing I was talking about is kind of summed up in this post from the HeroMachine blog, but I’d seen it referenced in something else first. Anyone know what I’m vaguely referring to?
The Sweater by Roch Carrier is best known to patriotic Canadians in this short from the National Film Board. Every time I watch it I become six years old.
Seriously: the 1980s Black Canary Costume. Horrendous. No wonder she burned it.
I said “Giffen and his inkers.” I of course meant “Maguire and his inkers.” Blame the whisky, not the man.
Hey, remember when I made 8tracks playlists for these things? Well, I started doing it again. Featuring the music used in this episode (from The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Medeski Martin & Wood, Beck, and The Soundtrack of Our Lives) and thirteen more tracks. Check it out!

Link: Episode 008 on Libsyn
Download: Scotch & Comics Episode 008
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Scotch & Comics: Episode 007 – License to Spill

I mean, isn't that a striking cover?

It’s the day after Anna Howard Shaw Day and what better way to get over your love hangover than with a dose of Scotch & Comics! After going on a little bit about Glenlivet, French oak trees, barreling, and the difference a few drops of water can make, we dive into a strange but satisfying combination of comic books. This episode features Neil Young’s Greendale, 1988′s Deadshot miniseries (spinning out of DC’s groundbreaking Suicide Squad title), a horrifying thriller in Silverfish, and the secret history of The Lone Ranger. A little of everything this week: western adventure, creepy crime fiction, ecological fantasy, and supervillains.

Show Links/Notes
Doctor Thirteen was a really exciting and wacky adventure series as well as a great tongue-in-cheek look at DC’s 52 event. Cliff Chiang’s website has a link to the unused cover for the trade collection, as well as links to the interviews he and Brian Azzarello did for the series. Well worth your time to check out even if you haven’t read 52.
In the podcast I say I know John Ostrander best from Suicide Squad. That is a lie. I don’t know how I forgot about this but I first discovered him as the writer of the 1990s Martian Manhunter series, and THEN I discovered he wrote Suicide Squad. Sober Devin apologizes.
I said “James Owlsey” when I should have said “James Owsley.” I don’t think I’ve ever said his name correctly. Damn tongue twisters.
Double Page Spread features comics, cooking, conversation, and cracking good times. Also, I was fortunate enough to be on the first episode. Take a listen!
Seriously, I welcome any suggestions for shelf organization. Please. Help a nerd in need.

Link: Episode 007 on Libsyn
Download: Scotch & Comics Episode 007
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Scotch & Comics: Episode 006 – Hung Up On A Rusty Nail

In the first episode of Scotch & Comics to be released in 2012 (yet recorded in 2011), your intrepid host Devin R Bruce impales himself on a Rusty Nail and talks a little bit about his penchant for glassware. Then, it’s off to the races as we discuss a wide range of comic books: the Elseworlds tale Batgirl and Robin: Thrillkiller, Silver Age stories from Turok: Son of Stone, and two series that were cancelled before their time: the second half of Welcome To Tranquility and the first volume of Thor: The Mighty Avenger. Alternate histories, dinosaurs, demons, and ancient gods: it’s just a typical episode of Scotch & Comics!

NOTE: There are slight spoilers for Thrillkiller in this episode, nothing completely outrageous but a few examples of how things are different in this version of the DC Universe. I don’t think it really ruins anything but you have been warned.

Show Links/Notes
Wikipedia’s list of Elseworlds stories (The year of the Elseworlds Annuals were published in 1994)
In my discussion of Turok: Son of Stone, I say “Pteranosaurs.” I of course meant “Pterosaurs.” My six-year-old self is mortified.
Zuvembies were NOT created by Marvel but rather by the great pulp-era writer Robert E. Howard. That word was used by Marvel in the 1970s, during the time of the Comics Code Authority when horror themes weren’t allowed to be overt. For more information on the Comics Code Authority you should read The Ten-Cent Plague, which is a really terrific book.
Website of Chris Samnee, artist of Thor: The Mighty Avenger (he is a hell of an artist and you should check his website out)

Link: Episode 006 on Libsyn
Download: Scotch & Comics Episode 006
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Scotch & Comics: Episode 005 – An Interview With Kody Chamberlain

Cover to Sweets #1

The fifth episode of Scotch & Comics is a Very Special Epsiode, and by that I don’t mean one where we all learn an important lesson about bullying or lying to your parents. I mean one where you get to hear a conversation with a comics professional! On his episode I talk to writer and artist Kody Chamberlain, from Image Comics’ Sweets and the upcoming re-launch of Punks from MTV Comics. We talk about Sweets in particular (and my hazy confusion about the plot), his craft in general, his opinion on digital comics, and then a brief discussion about what he’s currently interested in in the rest of pop culture. And if that wasn’t enough – and believe me, it should be – I finish it off with a trio of comics reviews that span genres, companies, and decades. Your regular semi-soused comics reviews, an interview with a very talented creator, and a charming story about waterfowl: you can’t ask for much more than that!

WARNING: I mention this in the intro to the podcast, but Kody Chamberlain and I do talk about the plot points and reveals in his comic, Sweets. Spoilers abound, but the rest of the reviews start at about the 40 minute mark.

Show Notes:
A Brief History of The Scotch Watch
Kody Chamberlain’s Blog
Punks: The Comic

Link: Episode 005 on Libsyn
Download: Scotch & Comics Episode 005
Subscribe on Itunes: The Readerfeed

Scotch & Comics Episode 4: The Random Drawerbox Shuffle

Cover to Welcome To Tranquility #4 by Neil Googe.

It’s been two long weeks but Scotch & Comics returns, with host Devin R Bruce serving up another round of slightly tipsy comics conversation. With the help of his friends on Twitter, he goes through a random selection of comics from his long boxes as well as one book from his shelf. It’s a big glass of superhero comics with a zombie twist and a sprinkling of pixie dust! Featuring conversations about X-Men First Class (the comic, not the movie), Giffen & Levitz’s Legion of Super-Heroes, Fables, Welcome to Tranquility, and the zombie comic Things Undone. Scotch and Comics: stumbling through the long boxes to find nuggets of solid gold!

Show Notes:
Macallan Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Twitter friends who helped program the show: @pau1wa11ace, @leah_literally, @kalebd, @RenaissanceDork, @bboyspodcast
You should also follow @GailSimone – because she is not just a very good comics writer but hilarious on Twitter
Linda Medley on the Fantagraphics site, artist of Fables #18 and Castle Waiting
Shane White – Creator of Things Undone
8Tracks Playlist (will be up soon-ish but you can find the others here)

Link: Episode 004 on Libsyn
Download: Scotch & Comics Episode 004
Subscribe on Itunes: The Readerfeed

Scotch & Comics – Episode 003

Happy Hallowe’en everyone! In this horror-themed episode of Scotch and Comics, host Devin R Bruce talks about a real Monster of a whisky and then dives into a trove of dystopian sci-fi, monsters, vampires, and other creepy tales! Featuring looks at Smoke by Alex DiCampi and Igor Kordey; The Complete Dracula by Leah Moore, John Reppion, and Colton Worley; a smattering of Marvel Monsters; Brian Azzarello & Eduardo Risso’s Spaceman; and a selection from the venerable Creepy Archives, Volume One! Plus side discussions on Canadian ballet films, Kickstarter campaigns, and more. Scotch and Comics: more fun than you can shake a severed limb at!

Show Links
Compass Box Whiskey
Ashes Kickstarter Page (go and donate!)
Trailer for Dracula: Pages From A Virgin’s Diary
Show playlist on 8tracks

Link: Episode 003 on Libsyn
Download: Scotch & Comics Episode 003
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Feature: The Mostly Mellow Tom-Cast!

I would kill to be this guy.

No episode of Scotch and Comics this week: I was busy with entertaining friends from out of town, MCing my friends’ wedding, and not sleeping properly. However, if you want your weekly dose of Devin talking, I was a guest on my friend Sampsa’s Mostly Mellow Pop Culture Podcast: Tom Waits edition! So if you want me to was rhapsodic about the amazing Tom Waits and his new album Bad As Me, visit his Libsyn page and download Episode 8. And stick around because after my interview he talks to two other distinguished gentlemen, Dave from The Bookhouse Boys Podcast and Zack from the Distinguished Comic Book Podcast. And then go get Bad As Me, because it is AMAZING.

Scotch & Comics – Episode 002

In this second episode of Scotch and Comics, host Devin R Bruce takes a little bit of time to talk about one of his new favourite Scotch varieties, then dives headfirst into the newly-relaunched (don’t call it a reboot!) line of DC Comics titles. After going through The Good, The Bad, and The Questionable, he then cleanses the palate with some decidedly darker non-superhero fare featuring Joe Casey & Steve Parkhouse’s The Milkman Murders, Rafael Grampa’s Mesmo Delivery, and Kody Chamberlain’s Sweets.

NOTE: The DC Universe talk features a spoiler for Nightwing #1 at about the 27 minute mark, so if you want to keep your reading experience relatively pure the rest of the reviews start at about 32:20.

Show Links
The Glenrothes – A Speyside Distillery
DC Comics – Home of the New 52
Kody Chamberlain’s Blog – Creator of Sweets
Show playlist on 8tracks

Link: Episode 002 on Libsyn
Download: Scotch & Comics Episode 002
Subscribe on Itunes: The Readerfeed