When Words Collide

Mon, August 6th, 2012 - Before They Were Famous: "Batman" #403
Tim brings us back before Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli redefined Batman's origin and two relatively young creators took a shot at exploring the inner conflict of Bruce Wayne in Before They Were Famous: "Batman" #403.

Mon, July 30th, 2012 - "Tails" & the Perils of Comic Book Realism
This week, Tim considers the strengths and weaknesses of certain genre explorations in comics, spurred by a recent read of Ethan Young's first "Tails" collection.

Mon, July 23rd, 2012 - The Secret Origin Of Oily Comics
Tim visited the headquarters of Oily Comics to discover the secret origin of Charles Forsman, his ever-expanding minicomics empire and how he became next year's Fantagraphics overnight success story.

Mon, July 16th, 2012 - The Brandon Thomas Interview
Tim talks with "Voltron" and "Miranda Mercury" writer Brandon Thomas about his experiences adding emotional depth to a literal cartoon character, his tendency to jump around in time, and the future.

Mon, July 9th, 2012 - "Voltron" Revisited
Tim checks in on the new "Voltron" comics from writer Brandon Thomas and finds more to like in those glossy pages than in any episodes of the still-surprisingly-fondly-remembered animated series.

Mon, July 2nd, 2012 - Best Comics of 2012 (So Far)
Tim looks back on a strong crop of comics already released this year and names his Top 10 So Far, with great work from Jonathan Hickman, Ryan North, Alan Moore, Brandon Graham and many more!

Mon, June 25th, 2012 - Notes From HeroesCon 2012
Tim visits Heroes Con for the first time, sells a few books and learns four important lessons about the likes of Geof Darrow, David Marquez, Ben Marra, and "Adventure Time."

Mon, June 18th, 2012 - Transformers, Exotic P.I.s & Deathzones
This week, Tim opines on Ulises Farinas's Transformers, the sublime Slime Freak by Carlos Gonzales, a forgotten superhero flashback from the Seventies and Michel Fiffe's tribute to the old masters.

Mon, June 11th, 2012 - Before They Were Famous: "Supreme" #40
In another installment of BEFORE THEY WERE FAMOUS, Tim explores the final pre-Alan Moore issue of "Supreme" and finds a lot more plot, but just as many rippled muscles, as he bargained for.

Mon, June 4th, 2012 - Designed To Death: Chip Kidd's Batman
Tim looks at Chip Kidd and Dave Taylor's "Batman: Death by Design" and reflects on what works, what doesn't and how it relates back to Kidd's earlier novelistic efforts.

Tue, May 29th, 2012 - D&D and the Myth of the Rational Reader
Tim uses his experiences with the public playtest of the new Dungeons & Dragons rules as a springboard to ponder about Marvel and DC comics and "The Myth of the Rational Reader."

Mon, May 21st, 2012 - The Aaron Kuder Interview 2: Finding the Balance
Tim concludes his talk with hot new artist Aaron Kuder as they discuss the importance of background details, the challenge of the Legion and a beloved superhero swine who just might appear by the end of the summer.

Mon, May 14th, 2012 - The Aaron Kuder Interview: Awesomeness is Contagious
Tim talks with soon-to-be-breakout Legion and Spider-Man artist Aaron Kuder on his early days as an Art Adams comic book reader and how a whole lot of message board drawing contests led him on a ten-year journey to success.

Mon, May 7th, 2012 - Revisiting MoCCA Fest 2012
Tim returns from MoCCA Fest 2012 with a pile of worthwhile new comics, including work by Josh Simmons, Katie Skelly, Pat Aulisio, Josh Burggraf and the absent-but-always-impressive Benjamin Marra.

Mon, April 30th, 2012 - Justice Machine: Yesterday's Dystopian Superheroes
Tim looks back on his comic book youth and wonders where he found some of the things that would be such a strong formative influence on him, like a little series by Bill Willingham and Mike Gustovich. Like "The Justice Machine."

Mon, April 23rd, 2012 - Before They Were Famous: "Captain America" #32
In another installment of BEFORE THEY WERE FAMOUS, Tim takes a look at the Captain America comics right before Ed Brubaker began his enormously-long run. Robert Kirkman superheroes, Marvel-style.

Mon, April 16th, 2012 - Superheroes & Spacemen, Monsters & Y2K
Tim checks in with reviews of a handful of recent comics and graphic novels, including new work from Bryan Hitch, Jonathan Ross, Derf Backderf, Noah Van Sciver, Brendan McCarthy and more.

Mon, April 9th, 2012 - Justice League Digital
Tim boots up the old iPad for a fantastic voyage into the land of digital-first comics, and sets his sights on a familiar crew of characters from a not-too-distant-future in "Justice League Beyond."

Mon, April 2nd, 2012 - Marvel's Augmented Reality
Tim winds up with an unexpected sneak peek at Marvel's new Augmented Reality thanks to the premature release of "AvX" #1. Is Marvel AR a great bonus feature for readers or a failed attempt at enhancing comic books?

Mon, March 26th, 2012 - Dissecting Tim Truman's "The Spider"
Tim reflects on a rarely-discussed pulp revamp from two decades ago, when writer and artist Tim Truman relaunched the Spider for Eclipse and changed the 1930s version of 1991, forever.

Mon, March 19th, 2012 - Three Short Essays on Jeff Parker's "Thunderbolts"
Just in time to tie-in to Marvel's "Dark Avengers" announcement, Tim looks back at an impressive stack of swift-moving stories and presents "Three Essays on Jeff Parker's 'Thunderbolts."

Mon, March 12th, 2012 - March Comics: Three First Issues Plus A Bonus
Tim reads three new first issues, "Saucer Country," "Hell Yeah" and "The Manhattan Projects," calculating the odds he will continue to read each series. Plus, a bonus look at Michael DeForge's new "Incinerator" comic.

Mon, March 5th, 2012 - Before They Were Famous: "X-Men" #66
BEFORE THEY WERE FAMOUS returns, this time spotlighting the pre-Claremont-era "X-Men" #66, when men were men, women were girls, Hulks were green and Professor Xavier's students faced certain cancellation.

Mon, February 27th, 2012 - Jason Latour on B.P.R.D., Writing & Hilarious Gag Strips
This week, Tim talks with writer/artist Jason Latour and the conversation turns to BPRD, crime fiction, early influences and all the greatness that comics has to offer.

Mon, February 20th, 2012 - Ennis' "Shadow" Script Review
Tim takes a look at the script for Garth Ennis' "The Shadow" #1 from Dynamite and provides a spoiler-free review of the opening issue along with some reflections on the influence of Howard Chaykin and Orson Welles.

Mon, February 13th, 2012 - Tom Scioli Part 2 - Kirby Tech, Big Endings & Barbarians
Tim concludes his conversation with Tom Scioli as they wrap up the New Gods chat and turn their attention toward Scioli's new "American Barbarian" from AdHouse book and his final two issues of "GODLAND."

Mon, February 6th, 2012 - Tom Scioli Part 1 - He-Men and New Gods
Tim begins a two-part conversation with artist Tom Scioli, discussing formative Masters of the Universe comics, astonishing Jack Kirby tales and the aesthetic origin of the "American Barbarian" creator.

Mon, January 30th, 2012 - Thoughts on Nobody: Tomasi & Gleason's "Batman & Robin"
Tim explores the strange wonderfulness of Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason's "Batman and Robin," tracking unlikely allusions and off-kilter symbolism through the recent life of the Dark Knight.

Mon, January 23rd, 2012 - Jason Horn 2: Apps, Kickstarting & More Ninjasaur
Tim wraps up his interview with "Ninjasaur" creator Jason Horn with a discussion about app development, webcomics, convention trends and the opportunities afforded by Kickstarter.

Mon, January 16th, 2012 - Ninjas, Dinosaurs, Comics & More
"Ninjasaur" creator Jason Horn talks with Tim about the behind-the-scenes origin of the world's deadliest dinosaur ninja and how a man with a graphic design degree and a comic book dream gets his ideas into the world.

Mon, January 9th, 2012 - Notes on Being Mike Murdock
Tim goes back to the early days of Marvel and provides a close look at the fractured psychology of Daredevil in a series of 'Notes on Being Mike Murdock.

Mon, January 2nd, 2012 - Before They Were Famous: "Saga of the Swamp Thing" #19
Tim kicks off the new year with a new feature called "Before They Were Famous," putting the spotlight on 'The Saga of the Swamp Thing' #19 in a way you might not expect. Alan Moore may or may not be mentioned.

Mon, December 26th, 2011 - SPECIAL EDITION: Thoughts of Randomness
Tim provides a series of deep and meaningful - and perhaps random - thoughts about "Justice League," "2000 AD," his return to podcasting, Michael Mann's "The Keep" and the early works of Alan Moore.

Mon, December 19th, 2011 - The Top 10 Comics of 2011
Tim counts down his list of Top 10 Comics of 2011, highlighting great books from the past year like "Deadpool MAX,"" Casanova," "Xombi" and seven others.

Mon, December 12th, 2011 - Best Comics of 2011: The Runners Up
Tim looks back at the best comics of 2011 and begins to name his Top 30. Join him this week as he talks "Wonder Woman," "Holy Terror," "iZombie," "Daredevil" and more.

Mon, December 5th, 2011 - No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn (Comics & Graphics Festival)
Tim returns from the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival with a truckload of comics and thoughts about 1990s-era Rob Liefeld tributes, the relationship between 'Kramers Ergot' and the DC relaunch and more.

Mon, November 28th, 2011 - The New 52 First Quarter Review
Tim looks at the first three months of DC's New 52, explaining why "Wonder Woman" is the best, how some Batman titles are better than others and why Jeff Lemire and Alberto Ponticelli's take on "Frankenstein" is so interesting.

Mon, November 21st, 2011 - Genre Avoidance, Squadron Supreme & Watchmen 2012
Tim tackles three big questions on the topics of Genre Avoidance, the Most Overlooked Influential Creator and Darwyn Cooke's Possible "Watchmen" sequel.

Mon, November 14th, 2011 - The Legend of Andy Helfer
This week, Tim asks 'Whatever Happened to Andy Helfer?' by looking at some of the highlights of his career, from Atari Force, to Justice League, to the Shadow, to his leadership of Paradox Press.

Mon, November 7th, 2011 - Playing Kirby: The Dynamite Problem
Tim takes aim at the shortfalls of Dynamite's "Kirby: Genesis" project and points to what makes post-Kirby projects succeed or fail. How does the first issue of the upcoming "Silver Star" series fare?

When Words Collide Home