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Storied Arcs

Storied Arcs

Storied Arcs

1 Creator

1 Creator

Welcome to Storied Arcs! A read-along deep dive into comics, one story arc at a time...
In each episode, we will discuss one story arc, typically in the form of a trade paperback, for a completed comic series. In general, we will be avoiding ongoing or continuing series so that we can discuss a work in its entirety.
We’ll also be avoiding the “big two” (Marvel and DC.) While we love those comics, there are plenty of podcasts covering characters like Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and so on. Instead, we’re excited to explore some of the great creator-owned stories. We’ll deep dive into the story while evaluating the prose, art, and all the easter eggs we can find.
Learn more at www.storiedarcs.com

#24 in the Top 100 Indie comics All time chart

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Top 10 Storied Arcs Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Storied Arcs episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Storied Arcs for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Storied Arcs episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Storied Arcs - The Nightly News - Complete Edition

The Nightly News - Complete Edition

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01/26/23 • 102 min

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"If you believe in nothing, how can you accomplish anything."
In this one-shot episode, Mike and Alex dive right into The Nightly News from Image Comics, superstar writer Jonathan Hickman's first-ever published comic work. They talk about how Hickman being the sole credited creator on the book effects the presentation of the story on the page, including how some storytelling elements that would persist throughout his career are present in this comic right from the jump. Then they dig into how a book written in 2006 could feel so prescient that it could easily be mistaken for a book written in 2023 (the heavy plot reliance on the existence of cassette tapes and the lack of smart phones and social media kinda gives it away, though). Is it amazing that a creator could so fully grasp the world around them that they could synthesize a story that would remain relevant and timeless? Or is just that our world continues to have the same problems over and over again so when in doubt, assume the worst and you'll probably be right? I'd say tune in at 11 for more but I don't think anyone watches the news anymore.
Thanks for joining us for another episode! We're done with the one-shot discussions for a little while as we get ready to jump into a new multi-volume book starting next week. See you then!

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Storied Arcs - Creator Spotlight: Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

Creator Spotlight: Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

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08/01/24 • 94 min

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And now for something (not entirely) completely different.
For this season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex are taking a detour away from creator-owned, independent comics and stepping into the caped and cowled world of mainstream, Big Two (that's Marvel and DC) superhero comics. But with a twist. The through line of the season isn't a character or title, but creators, writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale (RIP), and the guys will be examining four of this dynamic duos more revered and celebrated works. Those books are (in the order in which we plan to cover them):
Batman: The Long Halloween (issues #1-13)
Superman For All Seasons (issues #1-4)
Daredevil: Yellow (issues #1-6)
Spider-Man: Blue (issues #1-6)
In this zero episode, the guys discuss their history with the team of Loeb and Sale and how they first came to read their books (hint: it involves Batman). They also give a quick rundown of Loeb and Sale's comic history, both separately and together, as well as a brief tease as to why they picked the four comics that they did.
We're super excited for this next round of episodes and hope you will be, too. Batman: The Long Halloween is a hefty book to get through, so go find it wherever you get your comics and we'll see you back here next week to dive right in!

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Storied Arcs - Kill Or Be Killed Volume 02

Kill Or Be Killed Volume 02

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11/03/22 • 80 min

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"I don't believe in fate, but you can't deny that things in life sometimes fall together like there actually is some big cosmic plan at work. Which would suck for about 95 percent of us, right?"
In Volume 2 (issues 5-10), Brubaker and Phillips begin to expand the world of Kill Or Be Killed and Mike and Alex are here to break it all down in this episode. They revisit the idea of fate and destiny vs. self determinism (something of a semi-recurring theme in the books they've been covering) and explore how it factors into the motivations and justifications for a vigilante killer. They look at the real-world parallels that are referenced in this volume and also discuss how the broadening of the story beyond the viewpoint of its narrator effects our understanding of how reliable what we're being told and shown really is.
As previously stated, we won't be spoiling anything about the story beyond the trade collection we're coving that week because we want to preserve the experience for those those reading through the comic for the first time, just like Mike!
As always, join our discussion on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website.

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Storied Arcs - Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá

Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá

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01/30/25 • 84 min

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"Only when you accept that one day you'll die can you let you and make the best out of life. And that's the big secret. That's the miracle."
Mike and Alex are closing out Death Month with a comic that's been on their to-discuss list since the earliest days of the show, Daytripper by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba from DC Comics/Vertigo. A beautiful and emotional journey through the important moments in one man's life, the guys jump right in and try and get to the bottom of why *these* moments are the important ones, and it says about life and living life that the important moments aren't always the one we think they are. They dive into the storytelling mechanics of the comic and how their perception of the book might have changed had they read it in single issue versus in trade, and discuss what that says about the Moon and Ba as storytellers and creators, and how the themes and ideas presented land on multiple different levels. In the end, this is legitimately one of Alex's all-time favorite books, and the comic he's probably recommended the most to other people, which apparently includes Mike (I don't remember doing that, but it tracks as something I certainly would have done).
We've really enjoyed exploring the concept of death the past few weeks through these four disparate comics, and truly hope you did as well. Theme months will definitely be a thing we return to now, so if you have any ideas or suggestions, reach out and let us know. Until then, we'll be back next week to kick off the discussion of another great comic!

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Storied Arcs - Velvet Volume 01 Before the Living End

Velvet Volume 01 Before the Living End

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02/08/24 • 83 min

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"A group of highly-trained spies and killers. And she'd played each of us... with ease. That was when I realized just how dangerous Velvet Templeton actually was."
Welcome to another season of Storied Arcs! Mike and Alex are here to plunge head first into the world of espionage and intrigue as they break down Velvet Volume 1 Before the Living End (issues #1-5) by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting from Image Comics. The guys start by examining how the concept for Velvet fit into the wider pop culture zeitgeist surrounding spy fiction and "reboot" culture in the mid-2010s, and discuss how Brubaker and Epting's clear love and appreciation for the classic spy stories they grew up on shines through in their story. Then they eventually get to talking about the comic, mainly highlighting the incredible colors by Elizabeth Breitweiser and the unique storytelling devices the team employs that only work in sequential art. Alex also bad-mouths baccarat, because it's a silly game that seemingly only exists to be played by shady people in spy stories. No real person plays baccarat.
The conversation continues next week with Velvet Volume 2 The Secret Lives of Dead Men (issues #6-10), so pick it up wherever you get your comics and join us back here again for anther deep dive!

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Storied Arcs - Plume Volumes 1 & 2

Plume Volumes 1 & 2

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09/28/23 • 70 min

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"My father once told me that revenge was like a plume of black smoke. It seems tangible... but when you reach for it... you're grasping nothing but air."
In this first episode of the new season, Mike and Alex head to the Old West to discuss Plume Volumes 1 and 2 (issues #1-9) by cartoonist K. Lynn Smith. They look into the history of the Western as a genre in popular culture and examine how Smith uses and manipulates those existing tropes and architypes to tell her own version of a Western. The guys also touch on Plume's origin as a webcomic and how that influenced both its narrative and art styles when presented now in print. They also go off the deep end of the pop culture reference pool this week, ranging from Indiana Jones to Firefly to the Mandalorian to Aladdin. But we swear it all makes sense.
As usual with multi-volume books, we don't spoil anything in this discussion about what happens beyond Volume 2, aka Issue #9 if you're reading in the omnibus version. Head over to plumecomic.com to continue reading along and join us back here next week as we conclude our discussion of Plume with Volumes 3 and 4 (issues #10-17)!

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Storied Arcs - Revival Deluxe Volume 01

Revival Deluxe Volume 01

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09/26/24 • 78 min

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"If you add more weight onto the backs of the people here... if you push them just a little farther, someone might just... snap."
Welcome to the newest season of Storied Arcs, where Mike and Alex are heading to small-town Wisconsin to deal with the not-zombie zombies of Tim Seeley and Mike Norton's Revival from Image Comics. The guys dive deep into how the comic wastes no time in introducing the reader to the book's premise (recently deceased come back to life), sprawling cast (over a dozen or so seemingly major and semi-major named characters), and supernatural undertones (glow-y demon spirit thingies in the woods), and how the storytelling decision might affect the reading experience of this book as a monthly release versus as a complete series binge. They also take a look at what Seeley and Norton are setting up with the Revivers as stand-ins for "otherness" and the role politics and religion will play going forward. Finally, they end by discussing how the comic doesn't really look or feel like other horror and horror-adjacent books it often (fairly or not) gets compared to, and why that's probably a good thing.
As per usual, we're doing our best not to spoil anything about the story beyond what've covered thus far (it is a whodunit detective story at its core, after all). But you can remedy that fear by reading Revival Deluxe Volume 2 (issues #12-23 + Chew/Revival #1) and joining us again next week for another deep dive discussion!

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Storied Arcs - DIE Volume 01 Fantasy Heartbreaker

DIE Volume 01 Fantasy Heartbreaker

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05/18/23 • 79 min

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"While our peers back on Earth were doing their A-levels, we were trapped here. The world of Die taught us different lessons. I was the Dictator. I learned how to tell stories."
In this episode, Mike and Alex roll for damage as they enter the world of DIE from Keiron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, published by Image Comics. They dive right into Volume 1 Fantasy Heartbreaker (issues #1-5) to discuss the players of the game and how the line between fantasy role-playing and real life gets blurred when the characters are forced to return to the game. They also touch on the various historical and literary references featured in this first volume, from JRR Tolkien to the Bronte siblings to Prussian Army war games. All very normal things to encounter in a fantasy game.
As usual, we don't spoil anything about the comic beyond what's shown in this volume, so if you're reading along with the show, you should be safe. But keep on reading because we'll be right back here next week to continue our deep-dive discussion into DIE with Volume 2 Split the Party. Go read it wherever you find comics.

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Storied Arcs - Swan Songs by W. Maxwell Prince et al.

Swan Songs by W. Maxwell Prince et al.

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01/09/25 • 99 min

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"The fact that we know things will end actually presents each of us with an amazing choice: What will you do with the limited time you get on this spinning rock?"
To kick off Death Month, Mike and Alex are looking into the W. Maxwell Prince-penned anthology comic Swan Songs (issues #1-6) from Image Comics. In each issue of the series, Prince collaborates with a different artist to explore the end of something- the world (Martin Simmonds), a marriage (Casper Wijngarrd), the end of the world (Filipe Andrade), a sentence (Caitlin Yarsky), anhedonia (Alex Eckman-Lawn), and the sidewalk (Martin Morazzo). The guys start by sharing their initial thoughts on the book and each giving a quick personal ranking of the stories, then they dive right into the issues, in order, breaking down the specific variation of the theme presented in that issue, the storytelling choices made to convey that theme, and the work of each contributing artist. They guys try and work through what does and doesn't work for them in each story and in the end, reassess their initial rankings. Each issue offers a fascinating perspective on the death, or ending, of a thing, and while it's unlikely that every story will resonate with every reader, we feel pretty confident that at least one of them will hit you in a way that'll make you stop and think a little longer.
Next week we move back to a more traditional narrative comic for our discussion, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr (issues #1-5) by Ram V and Filipe Andrade from Boom Studios, but the specter of Death still looms. So go find The Many Deaths of Laila Starr wherever you get your comics and join us back her next week for another great discussion!

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Storied Arcs - Ascender Volumes 03 & 04

Ascender Volumes 03 & 04

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12/21/23 • 84 min

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"-I mean, after everything you have seen, it is so hard to believe there may be a design to the universe? -A design? All I see is chaos and death."
We've reached the conclusion of Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen's space epic, and Mike and Alex are here to break it all down as they jump into Ascender Volumes 3 and 4, The Digital Mage and Star Seed (issues #11-18). The guys have a frank discussion of what does and does not work for them in these final volumes and then take a look at the complete Descender/Ascender story as a whole. Endings are hard, as has been said multiple times here, and Mike and Alex dissect what it means when they think a story ends well narratively but might have a flawed process to reach that end. Ultimately, while it may seem like they're down on the book, they've picking at nits and really enjoyed revisiting these books.
This wraps up another season of Storied Arcs and effectively wraps up 2023, BUT WAIT! There's still one more week left on the calendar and we have a special episode coming up on the feed- our best of 2023 Annual, recorded live in a car on the highway in the rain. It was a lot fun to talk about some books we don't normally cover on this show so enjoy it and we'll be back to our regularly-schedule deep dives in 2024!

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FAQ

How many episodes does Storied Arcs have?

Storied Arcs currently has 149 episodes available.

What topics does Storied Arcs cover?

The podcast is about Book Club, Leisure, Comics, Comic Books, Podcasts, Books and Arts.

What is the most popular episode on Storied Arcs?

The episode title 'The Nightly News - Complete Edition' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Storied Arcs?

The average episode length on Storied Arcs is 77 minutes.

How often are episodes of Storied Arcs released?

Episodes of Storied Arcs are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of Storied Arcs?

The first episode of Storied Arcs was released on Jun 24, 2022.

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