July 28, 2021

Episode 22: Matt and Cale Read "Daredevil: Yellow" with Jake Browske

July 28, 2021/ Matt Smith!

Cale's high school best friend, Jake, joins us to discuss “Daredevil: Yellow” by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale.

This 2002 graphic novel takes us back to Daredevil's origin and a time when he wore a yellow costume instead of the red tights we are familiar with. Tim Sale's retro, expressionistic art perfectly compliments Jeph Loeb's wistful script and they are joined by Richard Starkings on letters and Matt Hollingsworth on colours.

Ol' Horn Head is a favourite character of Matt, Cale and Jake, and we all share what makes Matt Murdock so special to each of us during our discussion.

Next week we will have a special episode as Matt releases a creator commentary for the first chapter of his graphic novel, "You're Stuck With Me Now." This is the true story of how Matt met his wife, Emma, who joined us for our episode on Jeffrey Brown's "Clumsy." You can get a copy of "You're Stuck With Me Now" in print and digital form on Matt's website: SmithvsSmith.com and you can get a free copy of the first chapter to read along with Matt's commentary now!

We will be back the following week for our episode on "Green Hornet" by Kevin Smith, Phil Hester and Jonathan Lau (with covers by Alex Ross).

In the meantime, you can follow us @mattandcalereadcomics on Instagram and Facebook or @mattandcaleread on Twitter.
Listen and subscribe on:

Radio Public and more!

July 14, 2021

Episode 21: Matt and Cale Read "Batman: Year One"

July 14, 2021/ Matt Smith!

Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli rewind the clock with this epic retelling of the Dark Knight’s origin! After redefining Batman with his groundbreaking “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” (which we covered in a two-part episode), Frank Miller was tasked with introducing new readers to Batman.

Miller re-teams with David Mazzucchelli, his collaborator on “Daredevil: Born Again” (another book we covered on this podcast) and Mazzucchelli’s moody, luscious inks are a perfect match for Miller’s noir-ish story. They are joined by Mazzucchelli’s wife, Richmond Lewis, as the colourist and Todd Klein as the letterer.

This is one of our favourite Batman stories and one of our favourite graphic novels of all time. This book has been a huge influence on the character and comics as a medium, inspiring other creators to take a more thoughtful, serious approach to their own stories. Influences can also be seen in almost every film adaptation of Batman from Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy to “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.”

We will be back in two weeks for another wonderful collaboration: Daredevil: Yellow by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale.

In the meantime, you can follow us @mattandcalereadcomics on Instagram and Facebook or @mattandcaleread on Twitter.
Listen and subscribe on:

Radio Public and more!

July 01, 2021

Episode 20: Matt and Cale Read "Radioactive Man"

July 01, 2021/ Matt Smith!

Our comic aficionados celebrate 20 episodes with a deep dive into one of Matt's (and Bart Simpson's) favourite comic: "Radioactive Man"!

A spin-off of "The Simpsons," this six-part limited series was published from 1993 to 1994 by Bongo Comics. Radioactive Man is a love letter/parody/deconstruction/celebration of superhero comics, jumping between time periods from issue to issue. The series was written by Steve Vance (who also did layouts), with finished art by Bill Morrison and co-plotting/colours by Cindy Vance. And in classic "Simpsons" style, it's hilarious!

We had so much to say about this series that this is our second ever two-part episode! In part one, we discuss the characters and the first two issues in depth (Issue #1 from 1952 and Issue #88 from 1962).

Each issue jumps around in the fictional history of Radioactive Man and in the second episode we examine the last four issues: #216 (from 1972), #412 (from 1980), #679 (from 1986) and #1,000 (from 1995).

Each issue is PACKED with homages to/parodies of superhero comics, background jokes and references to "The Simpsons." There's so much thought and care put into each and every panel. This is one of Matt's all-time favourite series, but at the start of our first episode, Cale wasn't as excited about the book. Will Matt's enthusiasm lead to more appreciation from Cale? You'll have to listen to find out!

We will be back in two weeks for "Batman: Year One" by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. A re-telling of Batman's origin, this graphic novel is set in the same universe as Miller's "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" (make sure you listen to our 10th episode) and re-teams him with his "Daredevil: Born Again" collaborator (so make sure you listen to our 8th episode as well)!

We've been posting a ton of images on social media, celebrating all of the classic comics that have influenced "Radioactive Man." You can follow us @mattandcalereadcomics on Instagram and Facebook or @mattandcaleread on Twitter.
Listen and subscribe on:

Radio Public and more!

June 03, 2021

Episode 19: Matt and Cale Read "Clumsy" with Emma Smith

June 03, 2021/ Matt Smith!

Matt's wife, Emma, joins our comics aficionados to discuss the first graphic novel she ever read: "Clumsy" by Jeffrey Brown!

"Clumsy" is Brown's first graphic novel, an autobiographical diary-style comic about a year-long long-distance relationship. Brown's writing is brutally honest and revealing and his art style is messy and immediate. It's almost as if he is bleeding on to the page.

All three of us found plenty to relate to amongst the book's many vignettes as Brown is deeply candid about his love life.

Emma had never read a graphic novel before dating Matt, but now she is his muse and star of his autobiographical "Smith vs Smith" series. Fans of Jeffrey Brown's work will also enjoy Matt's graphic novel, "You're Stuck With Me Now," the true story of how he and Emma met while teaching in Kuwait, how Matt proposed, and how Emma tricked Matt into living with two cats. You can grab a copy of the book online at SmithvsSmith.com/store and see more of Matt's comics about Emma on Instagram @smithvssmithcomics.

You can follow us on Instagram @mattandcalereadcomics, on Facebook @mattandcalereadcomics and on Twitter @mattandcaleread. We will be back in two weeks for the first of a special two-part episode on one of Matt's favourite childhood comics: "Radioactive Man," a spin off of Bongo Comics' "The Simpsons Comics"!

Listen and subscribe on:

Radio Public and more!

Matt and Cale Read Comics

Smith vs Smith