Storied Arcs

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On this season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex lifting off with Image Comics' Skyward by Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett. They guys start with a spoiler-free pitch on the book and chat about how they came to the comic and what to expect from the story. Then they dive into the creative team, including writer Joe Henderson (another TV-writer-turned-comic-writer), artist Lee Garbett, colorist Antonia Fabela, and letterer Simon Bowland. 

The discussion kicks off next week with Skyward Volume 1: My Low-G Life (issues #1-5) so pick it up wherever you get y...

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This week, Mike and Alex are proud to share an exclusive interview with Matthew Roberts, artist of Manifest Destiny, recorded live at the Lexington Comic & Toy Convention on March 28, 2026. We sat at his table in Artist Alley and chatted all things Manifest Destiny, including how he got attached to the project, working with writer Chris Dingess, the amount of research that went into the book, and some of the themes and ideas they were looking to explore with the comic. Finally, Matthew gives a pitch for his new comic, Corpse Knight, with writer...

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Mike and Alex are back with another bonus episode to recap their trip down to the Lexington Comic & Toy Convention. The guys chat about what they saw, who they talked to, and what convention swag they came home with. They also discuss the news that there will be second Lexington Comic & Toy Convention this year. The fall version of LexCon is scheduled for September 4-6, 2026, and who knows, maybe we'll have another preview/recap special for that show as well. For more info on the show and to stay updated on announced guests...

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"This place will always be of monsters."

This week, Mike and Alex wrap up their discussion of Chris Dingess and Matthew Roberts' Manifest Destiny from Image Comics with Volumes 7 and 8 (issues #37-48). The guys discuss the end of the Corps of Discovery and the final encounter at the Pacific Ocean and what they think the books says, if anything, about the expedition. They break down the ending pages and admire how the book managed to weave itself back in line with known historical facts, even adding some additional context to perhaps...

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"If we have learned nothing on this journey, it is the fact that we know nothing. What the next danger will be, or where it will come from."

Mike and Alex are back this week to continue their trek through Chris Dingess and Matthew Roberts' Manifest Destiny from Image Comics with Volumes 5 and 6 (issues #26-35). They dive right into how the book followed up on the major revelations shown in Volume 4, and how the creators kept the tension and conflict present as they continued to deliver their version of the "monster...

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Mike and Alex hop on the mic to discuss a preview of one of their favorite comic events of the year: Lexington Comic & Toy Convention in Lexington, KY. It approaches this weekend. Listen to this episode to hear a little history of our experience with the event and what we're really looking forward to this year. Additionally, if you're within a few hundred miles then consider making the drive. Tickets are available: https://www.lexingtoncomiccon.com/

Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs

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"There is vast land out there, but it is deadly. And we can't destroy that danger. Only Navath, Keeper of the Realms, can. But we must pay. Make a sacrifice."

This week, Mike and Alex continue their journey west with Chris Dingess and Matthew Roberts' Manifest Destiny Volumes 3 and 4 (issues #13-24) from Image Comics. The guys discuss the narrative swings these volumes take, from jumping back and forth through time to tweaking the established story format, and break down what elements of those swings do and don't work for them. They...

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"Men are braced for action. Surely we will encounter the creatures spoken of by President Jefferson when he wisely commissioned this mission."

Welcome to the latest season of Storied Arcs! This week, Mike and Alex begin their trek westward with the Corps of Discovery as they dive into Manifest Destiny Volumes 1 and 2 (issues #1-12) by Chris Dingess and Matthew Roberts from Image Comics. The guys start with an overview of their thoughts, sharing what their expectations were heading into this story and how those changed and/or shifted once they started...

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For the next season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex will heading into the western frontier as they tackle Manifest Destiny by Chris Dingess and Matthew Roberts from Image Comics/Skybound. They guys give a spoiler-free pitch for the comic (aside from the parts of the book that intersect with known history) and chat a bit about some of their expectations going into the story. Then they give the comics background on the creative team of Chris Dingess and Matthew Roberts, as well as colorist Owen Gieni and letter Pat Brosseau. 

T...

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"I don't care if we win... I just want them to lose."

This week on Stories Arcs, Mike and Alex finish up their deep dive into The Fade Out by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips from Image Comics with Volume 3: Act Three (issues #9-12). They start at the end- how does the mystery resolve and what does it all mean? Did any of it matter in discovering the truth? And what is truth in a world run by story, myth, and legend? The guys examine these questions in the light of...

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"Charlie's just a moth who figured out how to get closer to the flame. But Maya, and people like her, they did him one better... they figured out how to be the flame, instead."

This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex continue their look into the seedy underbelly of Golden Age Hollywood as depicted in Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' The Fade Out Volume 2: Act Two (issues #5-8) from Image comics. The guys start by discussing how this volume subverts some of the expected narrative beats one might...

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"Whatever it was inside that made him a writer had been stolen over there. Now he was just empty. And every word he typed felt like a waste, and not enough at the same time."

This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex start their deep dive into Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' The Fade Out from Image Comics with Volume 1: Act One (issues #1-4). The guys discuss how the post-WWII Hollywood setting is the perfect fit for Brubaker and Phillips' neo-noir leanings, and how the story weaves real world events...

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For the next season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex are returning to the noir-tinged world of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips with their 2014 book from Image Comics, The Fade Out. The guys covered Brubaker and Phillips (and colorist Elizabeth Breitweiser) back when they discussed Kill or Be Killed (check that out if you haven't already), so first they give a brief update on some of the work the pair have published in the interim, then they give a spoiler-free intro to The Fade Out. They talk about why they decided on this...

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"But Gus failed and is forgotten now, and I fear I am forgotten as well. Maybe someday trees will also spring from my joints and moss will crawl over my skin."

Mike and Alex are closing out Lonely Sci-Fi Month with Andrew MacLean's OGN ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times from Dark Horse Comics. The guys touch on how they came to find this book, and how it slots into their overall theme. They discuss how this book is effectively the inverse situation of the books they've covered thus far...

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"All these years lost, and I've never felt more alone."

This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex continue Lonely Sci-Fi month with Gone (issues #1-3) by artist/writer Jock from DSTLRY! The guys start with some nitpicks and notes about the story and on Jock as a writer, before transitioning into discussing Jock as an artist, where the guys have nothing but praise. They examine the themes of isolation presented in the comic, from the physical to the economical to the temporal, and explore how it fits into their larger...

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"It could be that our collective fate will be the same as this book. May that's all any of us are... a letter to the Universe no one will ever read."

Welcome back to Lonely Sci-Fi month! This week, Mike and Alex are tackling Mark Russell and Roberto Meli's Traveling To Mars (issues #1-11) from Ablaze Comics. The guys start by looking at this book in relation to Mark Russell's other comics (such as The Flintstones and Not All Robots, just to name a couple) and examine how this comic may...

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"After that, things started to change. We started to change. And so did Val. If only I knew then what I know now, maybe I could have saved her."

Mike and Alex are starting Lonely Sci-Fi month with a look at Sentient (issues #1-6) by Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Hernandez Walta from TKO Studios. The guys chat about how and when they first found this book, and how their perspective on in has shifted between then and now. Then they dive deep into the science fiction idea of A.I. (as...

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Welcome to a new year and new season of Storied Arcs! In what may be turning into an annual tradition, Mike and Alex are once again starting off the calendar with a theme month- Lonely Sci-Fi. Alone in space. Stranded on a planet. It's a prevalent trope in science fiction and we're excited to examine it from an assortment of angles using these comics as a lens:

-Sentient by Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Hernandez Walta from TKO Studios

-Traveling to Mars by Mark Russell and Roberto Meli from Ablaze<...

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"There will be times in the future, my daughter, when you will question everything you are. Hearing your name spoken over will help when everything falls away."

Mike and Alex are here to finish up their look at Daniel Warren Johnson's Extremity from Image Comics with Volume 2 Warrior (issues #7-12). They kick things off with a deep look at the (possible) religious parallels that seem to infuse the back half of the story, and discuss how even if those parallels are unintended or go unnoticed by the reader, the message of...

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"But no matter what the fight... no matter who lives or dies... I won't kill my own brother."

This week on the Storied Arcs podcast, Mike and Alex kick off their deep dive of Daniel Warren Johnson's Extremity from Image Comics with Volume 1 Artist (issues #1-6). The guys start by discussing the world building (or lack there of) that DWJ provides in this book, and how what is and isn't explained on the page effects how the reader relates to the story. They explore some of the themes presented in the...

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In this new season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex taking a look at Daniel Warren Johnson's sci-fi-ish/fantasy-ish revenge epic Extremity, from Image Comics. The guys start with a spoiler-free preview of the book, talking a bit about how the book was initially sold in solicitations ("the beauty and imagination of Studio Ghibli meet the intensity of Mad Max") and how each of them came to the comic. Then they give a rundown on writer/artist/creator Daniel Warren Johnson, one of the true singular voices in comics at the moment, as...

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"This isn't a nightmare. This is the night. And I'm in a playground for monsters filled with monstrous things. I don't belong here."

This week, Mike and Alex are here to wrap up November by Matt Fraction and Elsa Charretier with Volume 4 The Mess We're In. The guys dive right into things, breaking down the ending and discussing how the various story threads converged in this final volume. They take a look at the three main characters and parse through their actions and examine how (and where) each of them ended...

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"Who knew I had a line? Who knew I could cross it? Well... almost."

Mike and Alex are back with the penultimate volume of November by Matt Fraction and Elsa Charretier, breaking down Volume 3 The Voice on the End of the Phone. The guys discuss what is (and isn't) happening in the actual story of the comic, and how that story continues to be presented to the reader, three-fourths of the the way through the narrative. They speculate on how much of the material in this volume would have existed had...

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"It's not every time the world ends you're look at a click when it happens. Some girls... we're just lucky."

This week, Mike and Alex continue their exploration of November by Matt Fraction and Elsa Charretier with Volume 2 The Gun in The Puddle. The guys talk about how the various story threads begin to intersect in this volume, gently overlaying and crisscrossing and hinting at the bigger narrative at play. They chat a little about the pacing of the story and what storylines/characters are holding their interest at the moment...

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"I'm just a working man, trying to make a living, Dee. We're all parts of a machine we cannot see. A system. All of us have our function."

Mike and Alex are back with another season of Storied Arcs, this time diving deep into the tangled web of November Volume 1 The Girl on the Roof by Matt Fraction and Elsa Charretier from Image Comics. They start by discussing how they think they should consider what was (and perhaps wasn't) presented in this book, knowing it's just the first entry of a...

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On this season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex will be diving into November, the graphic novella series by Matt Fraction and Elsa Charretier from Image Comics. Originally planned as a series of three OGNs, it ultimately expanded to four, which were released across the span of about 15 months. The guys start with a spoiler-free preview of November, giving the official synopsis that accompanied the initial solicitation, and talk a little about why they enjoy the type of storytelling construction utilized in this book. Then they give some background on creative team behind...

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This week, Mike and Alex are thrilled to be joined by writer and co-creator of The Bunker, Joshua Hale Fialkov! They start with the origin of The Bunker and how the idea came to be, from the initial germ of a story idea to how Joshua linked up with Joe Infurnari. Joshua then takes up deep into the business and commerce side of comics, discussing how his initial experiences working at DC and Marvel led him and Joe to self publish The Bunker digitally at first before finding a home at Oni Press...

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"Your job, your purpose is to tell people why they matter. To tell them the truth. Always. If you spend your life lying to the people you love, hiding who you are, and what you want... then we lose.

Mike and Alex wrap up their deep dive into The Bunker by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Joe Infurnari this week with Volume 4 (issues #15-19). The guys jump right into the ending, breaking down the final revelations and consequences presented in the book from meddling with time, and discussing their thoughts about the...

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"This is about TRYING to make things better. Listen, the best part about all of this is that if we're wrong, we just start over again."

In this episode, Mike and Alex break down the penultimate volume of Oni Press' The Bunker by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Joe Infurnari with Volume 3 (issues #10-14). The guys jump right into things, exploring how the three-month time jump in the story was handled, and how the "backward" issue plays as a storytelling device. And as they are attempting to heap some praise on Joe...

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"-How do we know that we aren't the ones who killed these people, and started this whole thing? How do we know that we didn't do this all already? -We don't. And we never will."

This week, Mike and Alex continue their exploration of Oni Press' The Bunker by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Joe Infurnari with Volume 2 (issues #5-9). With some further examination of the time travel rules by the book itself, the guys dive a little deeper into what they think might and might not be possible to accomplish by...

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"We wrote these letters to tell you that its not too late. To inspire a future we hope can be made. That is a lie. If this works, and you are reading this, you need to understand something. This NEEDS to happen. The world HAS to die."

This season on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex are delving deep into The Bunker by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Joe Infurnari from Oni Press, starting this week with Volume 1 (issues #1-4). The guys start by revisiting the topic of time travel stories (see: Paper...

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This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex crack open The Bunker from Oni Press by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Joe Infurnari. In this spoiler-free introduction, they shine the creator spotlight on Fialkov and Infurnari, exploring their past comic work, then set the stage for what makes this time-bending thriller worth your attention. Along their way, the guys discuss how they came across this book, how its initial digital-first publishing strategy was a sign of the times, and why time-travel stories remain a fruitful storytelling well. 

Whether you’re brand new to...

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"We can set down our tools and, at last, rest. The next generation is no longer our concern. Because we are the last."

Mike and Alex contemplate the end (question mark?) of human civilization as they dive into the final issues of Charles Soule and Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque's Letter 44 with Deluxe Volume 3 (issues #25-35) from Oni Press/Image Comics. The guys start at the end of the story and go deep into the final issues, debating the ending notes of the comic and the feelings they were left with at its...

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"You're in command, sir. Everything you do is the right thing. Even when it's not."

This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex continue their exploration of Letter 44 by Charles Soule and Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque with Deluxe Volume 2 (issues #13-24). The guys start by discussing the escalation in the storylines, both on Earth and in space, and dive into the decision of a world leader to unilaterally inform the planet that alien life exists and it's on its way here (spoiler alert- it goes poorly; World War III, anyone?). They once...

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"But in my opinion, if they can travel between stars then we can invent as many laser guns as we want and it won't make a damn bit of difference."

Welcome to the new season of Storied Arcs, where Mike and Alex are diving into the political/sci-fi mash-up of Letter 44 by Charles Soule and Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque from Oni Press and Image Comics with Deluxe Volume 1 (issues #1-12, if you're reading in single issue or compendium). The guys start with a few nits to pick (no book is perfect) before...

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In this zero episode, Mike and Alex get you primed for Letter 44 by Charles Soule and Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque from Oni Press (originially) and Image Comics (currently). The guys start with a quick synopsis of the book (sci-fi thriller in space combined with political drama on Earth) and recount its publishing history, providing a little background of Oni Press along the way. Then, they dive into the creative team, including writer Charles Soule (who was covered more fully in the Eight Billion Genies zero episode) and artist Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque, along with a...

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"Mindset's advanced habitat helps us all become free from manipulative social media algorithms. Because when a person knows how they're being influenced, they have the power to break free and change their mindset!"

Welcome to the final entry in Social Media Summer! For this final discussion on the theme, Mike and Alex question who really is in control as they dive into Mindset by Zack Kaplan and John Pearson from Vault Comics. The guys break down how this comic still feels relevant and accurate to...

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This week, Mike and Alex are here to intro the final installment of Social Media Summer, Mindset by Zack Kaplan and John Pearson from Vault Comics. They start by covering the creative team behind the book (including mentioning letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, who's lettered seemingly every book they've covered that's been published within the last few years) before giving a spoiler-free tease for the comic. This books brings us to the very recent past along the decline of social media timeline (June 2022 to January 2023), meaning our relationship to social media and technology today is...

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"I was showing everyone that technology is nothing but a monster." "Technology is just a tool. Human beings still do the heavy lifting."

Welcome to book three of Social Media Summer! This week, Mike and Alex dive into Thumbs (issues #1-5) from Image Comics by Sean Lewis and Hayden Sherman. They start by examining the slightly different angle this book takes towards technology versus the previous two books they've covered in this series, and how that almost agnostic view of tech muddies the focus on who are the good guys and...

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Social Media Summer continues this week as Mike and Alex jump a little further forward on the decline of social media timeline (June to August 2019) to introduce Thumbs by Sean Lewis and Hayden Sherman from Image Comics. As usual, the guys give a quick rundown of the creative team's comics history, as well as whatever projects they may be working on now (like maybe one of the best superhero comics on the stands as we record this). Then they wrap with a spoiler-free intro to Thumbs and chat a little as to how...