Storied Arcs
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
Storied Arcs
Assassin Nation
"So, what's the best way to stay safe from a hitman? Hire a bunch of better hitmen."
Mike and Alex are here for another season of Storied Arcs, and this week they're discussing Kyle Starks and Erica Henderson's Assassin Nation (issues #1-5) from Image Comics. The guys jump right into things, looking at this story through the lens of the kinds of stories it was clearing influenced by, from the action-comedy movies of the 80s and 90s to more modern tales of hitmen and assassins like John Wick (and there's a lot of John Wick talk, tbh). They talk about the humor laced throughout the comic and how the specific traits of Kyle Starks' writing and Erica Henderson's art mesh together to make the humor work. They guys also touch on how effective the "mystery" of the story is delivered and whether or not that really matters with a book like this when so much of selling point is vibes. These are characters you want to hang out with. Assuming they aren't trying to kill you.
We hoped you enjoyed reading and discussing Assassin Nation, and we're very pleased to announce that next week on the feed, we have an exclusive interview with writer Kyle Starks! We covered a vast range of topics and got some behind-the-scenes insight into the making of Assassin Nation. We had a blast chatting with Kyle and can't wait to share it with you!
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