Secret Stacks

Is summer over already? Hop in the Secret Stacks wayback machine to the end of April, releasing now in September! Back then, Avengers: Infinity War was a theatrical event and not just a series of kiosks asking you to extend this endless cultural experience for one… more… film. There was still time to vote in the Eisners. Universal Fan Con was still flickering in the convention consciousness. Plus a con report from Kristin and fresh picks that will never spoil!

Voting On The Eisners

Philly Comic Con Does Universal Fan Con Ticket Holders A Solid

Barnes & Noble Is Adding A Kids Graphic Novel Section

SEE-IT Awards

C2E2

Kristin’s Picks

Bingo Love 9781534307506

As The Crow Flies 9781945820069

Thomas’s Picks

Lighter Than My Shadow 9781941302415

Satania 9781681121437

Find a comics shop near you

Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove

Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

Welcome to Episode 45 of The Secret Stacks, your podcast about name brand footwear and knockoff drinkware. April Fool’s on Thomas and Kristin – opposite temperature extremes! It’s okay, though – Kristin can escape to the comfy halls and adjoining hotel of C2E2 while Thomas takes a nap on his back, the common cure for plantar fasciitis #GraphicMedicine. Movements regarding spoilers, a new Puerto Rico comics anthology, and 30 Days of Autistic Art are all discussed, plus fresh picks as always.

Kristin and Derek from Comics Alternative interview Suzy Hopkins and Hallie Bateman

C2E2

Ada Palmer website

Ricansctruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico

#ThanosDemandsYourSilence

If The Story Matters, Then Spoilers Matter

Cross-Universe Comics Crossovers

Paper Girls

Something Terrible

Why Hal Jordan Should Not Be In The Next Green Lantern Movie

30 Days of Autistic Art

Kristin’s Picks

What To Do When I’m Gone 9781632869685

Chainmail Bikini 9781513600123

Thomas’s Picks

Batman / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 9781401262785

Green Lantern: Earth One 9781401241865

Find a comics shop near you

Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove

Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

From Wonder Woman #12 (New 52), by Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang, Matthew Wilson, and Jared K. Fletcher

With ALA Annual taking place in New Orleans this summer, Kristin and Thomas reminisce about meeting there in 2011, plus convention observations in general. Student protests and repatriation get free, informative comics treatments.  A creator objecting to misuse of his intellectual property gets labeled as “the establishment” by… an establishment. March pollen ruined Thomas’s throat, but the picks are still fresh! Check in to your nearest boom tube and have a listen, won’t you?

Ava Duvernay directing ‘New Gods’ film for DC

NashiCon and C2E2 are upon us again

Marcela wants to hang out with us and “talk comics for a bunch of hours” – can do!

Nic Cage Finally Playing Superman (as a cartoon)

Two-Fisted Library Stories paired us with @carissapffffft “in the mystery of the dread incorrect citation”

Black Panther clears $1B worldwide

Pepe creator sues InfoWars “The establishment wants this taken down.”

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Guide To Student Protests

Repatriation Comic written by Sonya Atalay

Kristin’s Picks

Adulthood is a Myth 9781449474195

The End of the Fxxxing World 9781606999837

Thomas’s Picks

Puerto Rico Strong 9781941302903

Quantum & Woody 9781682152690

Find a comics shop near you

Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove

Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

Art by Butch Hartman

A whole lot of news meets a whole lot of delays – what happened to our audio in February? It’s all good, just a little late. Better done than perfect, right? And these picks are so fresh they’re well within their expiration dates! Get with the times, New York Times – comics are only gaining in multimedia prominence, from print to cartoons to film adaptations to podcasts. Plus Kristin wants your sad/dead parent stories. All this and more on The Secret Stacks!

Squirrel Girl and Ms. Marvel Teaming Up For Free Comic Book Day Title Promoting Marvel Rising

DC Ink and Zoom Titles and Creators Announced

Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur Cartoon Coming To Disney Channel

Marvel Now, Then, and Again

Tiffany Haddish To Star in Tuca and Bertie

Tiffany Haddish & Melissa McCarthy for The Kitchen

Comics Industry Asks NYT To Restore Graphic Novel Bestseller Lists

Letter To The New York Times Asking For Return of Graphic Novel Bestseller Lists

YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels For Teens 2018

Joss Whedon Drops Out of Batgirl Movie For Lack of Ideas

Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, and Ta-Nehisi Coates Teaming Up For “Wrong Answer” Film

Kristin wants YOUR picks this time – recommend her some stories about dead and dying parents. The more miserable and awkward, the better!

Kristin’s Picks

Monet Itinerant of Light 9781681121390

Kobane Calling 9781941302491

Thomas’s Picks

The Kitchen 9781401257736

Milk Wars 9781401277338

Find a comics shop near you

Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove

Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

Goooooo Eagles!

There’s a new Teen Center in town! Media companies are calling dibs on IP lines left and right. Does comics distribution need a shakeup to make entrance easier? What is proper dabbing etiquette? All of these topics plus some fresh picks for the second episode of January 2018. (Go Eagles!)

DMG acquires Valiant Entertainment

Black Panther premiere

Netflix acquires MillarWorld

Gabriel Ba & Gerard Way mark beginning of filming Umbrella Academy

Trailer for I Kill Giants

Diamond maybe allowing pre-orders?

Direct comics shipping services (besides your local comics shop):

Boom!

Dark Horse (their website sends people to Things From Another World)

DC Comics

Image

Marvel

Discount Comic Book Service

Kristin’s Picks

Imagine Wanting Only This 9781101870839

The Hunting Accident 9781626726765 (related: The Crucial Hint)

Thomas’s Picks

Eternity 9781682152652

The Gods Lie 9781942993360

Find a comics shop near you

Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove

Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

Who has time to say ‘when’ while there’s money to be made and lost? Superhero news everywhere! Black Panther, Black Lightning, Valiant, and the Catalyst Prime universe are offering a little variety. Want something else? Explore our Goodreads categories! Don’t be like Thomas, hunting for affordable Absolutes – buy comics that will put your money to good use. All this and some fresh picks from years past, plus a new recipient of the Unanimous Recommendation honor. No matter what pushed you out of comics, there are plenty of titles ready for your return.

Black Panther pre-sales

First black lesbian superhero on Black Lightning

Lion Forge’s “Catalyst Prime” superhero universe on Hoopla – Noble, Accell, Superb, Incidentals, KINO, Summit

Faith clothing line

The Secret Stacks on Goodreads (tell us if you’d like us to use a new category)

Martin Luther King and The Montgomery Story (Comixology link; proceeds go toward the Fellowship of Reconciliation)

Kristin’s Picks

Andre The Giant: Life and Legend 9781596438514

On The Camino 9781683960218

Thomas’s Picks

Race To Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling 9781595585417 (related: The Innocence Project)

Port of Earth 9781534306462

Find a comics shop near you

Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove

Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

Which of us is Jim, and which is Bruce? Have you ever seen us in the same room together?

This is it, the final episode of 2017, recorded on the last day of the old year and published on the first day of the new! Kristin and Thomas gloat about their new podcasting toys before discussing a new comics creation tool for all ages, courtesy of Earth’s global entertainment authority, Disney. We talk about proven methods for multiplying checkouts by high school students. There’s a new tip jar on the website – your support means everything to us, even if you’d rather enjoy our content for free. All this and our fresh picks to close out the year.

Create your own Marvel comics! (with some restrictions)

Puerto Rico comic anthology coming in March, all profits going to help Puerto Rico

How My Library Doubled Its Circulation

Kristin’s Picks

Poppies of Iraq : Findakly 9781770462939

Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland 9781940878065

Thomas’s Picks

Justice League: The World’s Greatest Super-Heroes 9781401273705

Bingo Love 9781534307506

Find a comics shop near you

Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove

Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

Is your baby a happy cooer or a frowning warlord? Does Kristin’s Aquaman Funko live in an aquarium, or the watery graveyards of the Great Lakes? Will Black Panther make us all forget about Star Wars and Avengers running on fumes? Will Disney’s corporate fiefdom continue to consume everything and everyone? (Marvel Comics now on Hoopla!) Free Comic Book Day titles have been announced, and between those and our picks, there’s something for everyone. All of this and more for the first episode of December 2017.

Disney-Fox Deal’s Effect On Boom Studios Movies

Free Comic Book Day 2018

Questions from listener Victoria:

1) How do you feel that about how our current state of our country is starting to feel similar to certain comics(ex. Watchmen, Ms. Marvel, etc.)?

2) The international podcast “Welcome To Night Vale” will be adapted into a TV series next year. What are your thoughts on trying to translating a work of spoken word into a visual medium?

3) Today marks the 3-year-anniversary of Korrasami; do you think that LGBT representation in media has gotten better since this fictional couple’s debut?

4) Since the release of the new Star Wars film (which I haven’t seen yet so don’t say anything), I continue to ask myself when this eternal war amongst the stars will ever end; will the Rebels win against the Empire or will they just continue this perpetual battle so long as the Mouse can enough moolah from the merch it generates?

Cebulski Profile & Apology

LEGO The Flash Trailer (what, it’s cute)

A List of the Lists of Great Comics & Graphic Novels of 2017

Comixology end-of-year sales

Marvel Comics on Hoopla

Kristin’s Picks

Josephine Baker 9781910593295

Hot Dog Taste Test 9781770462373

Thomas’s Picks

Marathon 9781596436800

A Wrinkle In Time 9780374386153

Find a comics shop near you

Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove

Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

On Episode 38 of Secret Stacks, Kristin and Thomas discuss their Thanksgiving adventures, the insane saga of C.B. Cebulski, and their favorite Christmas Carol version. They also answer the most important questions out there: Which Flash is the best? How shirtless is Aquaman in Justice League? How great is Taika Waititi? Kristin settles a debate about ghost humor.

Cebulski and Akira Yoshid at Marvel

(Similar story involving Best American Poetry anthology)

Eddie Berganza fired from DC

Amazonian Costumes

Henry Cavill Being Uncomfortable

Goldie Vance movie

She Makes Comics

Batman & Bill

Kristin’s Picks

Uncomfortably Happily 9781770462601

Going Into Town: A Love Letter To New York 9781632869784

Thomas’s Picks

Mech Cadet Yu 9781684151950 (Discover Now edition out in comics shops in January!)

Just So Happens 9781419715969

Find a comics shop near you
Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove
Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

Kristin and Thomas are the new “Tom Goes To The Mayor,” a show they both enjoy. Comic book movies Thor: Ragnarok, Justice League, Atomic Blonde, My Friend Dahmer, and A Silent Voice are all mentioned. Our hosts compare “low-brow opera” and the Zelda Symphony to reading according to your tastes. No snobs allowed! All this and some great picks for our first episode of November 2017.

Van Jones is a big comics fan

Zelda Symphony

Reading Books Will Help You Build These 7 Habits

Some political comics:

Prez – a teenager accidentally goes viral on video and wins the presidency. Satire ensues.

The Legend of Koizumi / Reform With No Wasted Draws / Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku

She-Hulk – commentary on political asylum for Latverian dissenters

March – Congressman John Lewis’s experiences in the Civil Rights movement.

Excel Saga – hooray, civil servants!

Attack On Titan – fighting monstrous giants gives way to Japanese colonialism…sure?

Mr. A – All your favorite Randian hits, courtesy of Steve Ditko!

Kristin’s Picks

In The Pines: Five Murder Ballads 9789492117397

Garbage Night 9781910620212

Thomas’s Picks

Letter 44 9781620101339

Mister Miracle 9781401277307

Find a comics shop near you
Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove
Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all