'Comics on Comics', Geek Idols Served Over Funny

Geeks, hold your breath, because you are going to need that air to cheer on Comics on Comics, a pop-culture web talk show in its second season with a cape-load of comic-book guests and a colorful pool of knowledge.

I have watched (or listened) to several other podcasts that try to take on the geeky world of comic books, and many do an admirable job. Still, they often lack the in-depth analysis good literature deserves. That is not the case with this series. Comics on Comics, hosted by Juan-Manuel Rocha, manages to consistently gather together extremely informed panels and never, with the exception of Comic-Con or Wizard World, have I heard such geeky language centered around the medium. All of this with a set of three comedians. I love it.

Rather than try to cover an entire week of comic-book geekery (like many of the This Week-type comic-book podcasts do), each episode of Comics on Comics

tackles specific topics with a top-notch panel.

We’re talking people like Len Wein (who was sporting a Justice League of America t-shirt), the creator of comic-book icons like Swamp Thing, and, oh, I don’t know, this hairy guy named Wolverine. Adamantium skeleton, exceptional healing factor. Maybe you’ve heard of the him? Wein was also an editor for Alan Moore’s Watchmen. The show has also drawn other geek-idols like LOST genius and co-creator Damon Lindelof. Seriously? How does one get an audience with people like this?

Comics on Comics, which despite its name also covers video games and other elements of pop culture, is a very special podcast and is surprisingly comprehensive. Critiques like the layout of a certain book’s panel or the simplicity of a plot are common-place on Comics on Comics. The latest episode, which focuses on Watchmen, even analyzes the effect of the movie’s music on a viewer and the hidden meaning behind it. Thank God for intelligent comic-book lovers. Still, the show isn’t all serious talk. With a bunch of comic-book geeks, how could it be?

A word of warning to those who like to listen on a lunch break or in public: the podcast is rated ‘explicit’ in iTunes and that is a rating well deserved. No word and no subject is off limits to this crew.

Comics on Comics makes me feel like I am standing in a comic-book shop while sitting in my bedroom. The guests are geeky to the core. These are my people.