Storied Arcs

Send us Fan Mail

"But I think it's time for something new- truly radical thoughts. To ze underbelly of what we call science- into ze abyss and out towards ze unknown."

Mike and Alex are back to dive deep into The Manhattan Projects Volume 4: The Four Disciplines (issues #16-20) by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra. The guys discuss how this volume feels like the closing of the first chapter of this story (aka Oppenheimer) and the beginning of the next (aka Einstein), even though that's not exactly what's happening with the comic. They talk about...

Send us Fan Mail

"It seems, in winning, that we have become afflicted with ze malady called responsibility."

This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex continue their exploration into The Manhattan Projects by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra with Volume 3: Building (issues #11-15). The guys discuss the escalation in the absurdity of the book (compliment) and how Hickman and Pitarra are managing an anthology-esque story across an on-going comic. Then they dive deep into Jordie Bellaire's colors, with specific attention paid to how those colors are utilized as storytelling hacks for the reader.

Send us Fan Mail

"Wait... so we now have unlimited funding to try and discover how to do things we've already discovered how to do."

This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex continue their trip through the alternate history of Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra's The Manhattan Projects with Volume 2: They Rule (issues #6-10) from Image Comics. The guys examine the anthology-like nature of the narrative, and discuss how expanding the cast of characters and scope of the story hits differently with this book (and why that's a feature, not a bug). They also...

Send us Fan Mail

"Most people cannot tell ze difference between a genius and just ze highly intelligent."

Kicking off this new season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex crack open Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra's The Manhattan Projects from Image Comics with Volume 1: Science Bad (issues #1-5). The guys start with a broad look at how wild this comic is right out the gate, from Hickman's writing to Pitarra's art, and how it immediately sets the tone for what you're about to read. Then they discuss the level at which the book does and...

Send us Fan Mail

On this season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex are exploring the limits of science and morality as they get ready to cover The Manhattan Projects by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra from Image Comics. The guys previously covered writer Jonathan Hickman with his book The Nightly News and letterer Rus Wooten when they discussed Extremity, so in this episode, they take a look at artist Nick Pitarra and main series colorist Jordie Bellaire (who they somehow haven't covered before), as well as the other artist and colorists who contributed to the book...

Send us Fan Mail

This week, Mike and Alex are stoked to be joined by the writer and co-creator of Skyward and Shadecraft, Joe Henderson! They start with Joe's comic book origin story (shout out, Darkhawk) and chat about how he went from film and television writing to dipping his toes into comic writing. Joe talks about his collaboration with artist Lee Garbett on Skyward and Shadecraft (and The Big Burn from DSTLRY), what makes Lee so great, and why he keeps going back to him for his comic projects. Then they dive into Skyward and Shadecraft...

Send us Fan Mail

"So you're saying, to use it, I need to control my negative emotions? You know I'm a teenager, right?"

This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex make a quick U-turn and return to the creative team of Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett to discuss their follow up book to Skyward, Shadecraft (issues #1-5) from Image Comics. The guys parse through their thoughts on this gone-too-soon story and discuss what does and doesn't work for them in this limited run of issues. They also examine some of the parallel...

Send us Fan Mail

On this season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex are calling audible and running it back with a book from a creative team they just recently covered- Shadecraft by Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett from Image Comics. Why the turnaround? Truth be told, when they covered this team's previous book, Skyward, they considered tacking Shadecraft onto the end, but ultimately decided against it. Then, writer Joe Henderson listened the Skyward discussions and reached out, so they took that as a sign to dive into Shadecraft as well. Since they've already covered the entire...

Send us Fan Mail

"Three kids out to change the world with three chords and the truth. That's all it was ever about really, wasn't it"

This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex dive into the finale of Home Sick Pilots by Dan Watters and Caspar Wijngaard with Volume 3: Three Chords and the End of the World (issues #11-15). The guys start at the end and discuss the twist/reveal of the book and break down why it felt like the "right" ending for the story. Then they continue their exploration of the book's...

Send us Fan Mail

"But there's a bunch of us, we sing about these things. We scream about them. We go on marches and all that stuff. And because we care, does that mean that it's our responsibility?"

This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex continue their journey back into the 90s with Home Sick Pilots Volume 2: I Wanna Be A Walking Weapon (issues #6-10) by Dan Watters and Caspar Wijngaard. The guys dive right in and break down some of the the larger themes they've been picking up in the story...

Send us Fan Mail

"There are corridors between us. All of us. All those things we leave unsaid. All those things that we assume of each other- about each other. Sometimes it feels like all the tragedies of being human exist in those lonely spaces."

Welcome to another season of Storied Arcs! This time out, Mike and Alex journey back to the mid-90s for Dan Watters and Casper Wijngaard's Home Sick Pilots Volume 1: Teenage Haunts (issues #1-5) from Image Comics. The guys dive right into the book, discussing the POV...

Send us Fan Mail

On this season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex travel back into the 90s to discuss Home Sick Pilots by Dan Watters and Caspar Wijngaard from Image Comics! The guys start with a quick rundown of the creative team, including letterer Aditya Bidikar, before giving a quick synopsis of the book and what they are looking for in the story. Power Rangers meets The Shining? Sure, why not.

We kick things off next week with Volume 1: Teenage Haunts (issues #1-5) so pick it up wherever you get your comics and join...

Send us Fan Mail

"There is no fixing the world, Lucas. It was broken then, and it's broken now. You just have to make the best of it."

This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex wrap up their discussion of Skyward by Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett with Volume 3: Fix the World (issues #11-15). The guys start with their thoughts on the letters both Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett included at the end of the trade and on how the story concluded. They dive deep into how they felt the story may have pivoted...

Send us Fan Mail

"Then, I went to the streets. Saw how the rich live. What it must feel like to be... safe. I don't think I ever realized that was an option. Feeling 'safe'."

Mike and Alex are back this week to continue their journey through Image Comics' Skyward from Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett with Volume 3: Here There Be Dragonflies (issues #6-10). The guys discuss some of their (minor) hang-ups with the book, and try and analyze why they are compelled by the story but at the same time find something missing from...

Send us Fan Mail

"Haven't you figured it out by now? People down here are crazy. Anything to pretend the world hasn't changed. That includes forcing a kid who doesn't need his legs into a wheelchair."

Welcome to a new season of Storied Arcs! This week, Mike and Alex take to the skies to dive into Skyward Volume 1: My Low-G Life (issues #1-5) by Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett from Image Comics. The guys start by chatting about the efficiency of the world building presented in this book and how the creators immediately set the...

Send us Fan Mail

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...

Send us Fan Mail

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...

Send us Fan Mail

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...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

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

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

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...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

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...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

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<...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

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...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...

Send us Fan Mail

"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...