The Panelists are back with episode 2 of our Fullmetal Alchemist readthrough. In these volumes, we learn so much about how the world of Fullmetal Alchemist works behind the scenes, the darkest plans of our villains, the atrocities committed by our heroes, and which characters make for the best horny fanart.

We spoil volumes 1-9 in this episode. Check out our episode on those volumes here!

• (00:00) - “Fullmetal Alchemist” by Hiromu Arakawa
• (02:33) - Spoiler-free summary
• (03:21) - Impressions vs last time
• (07:59) - Spoiler Zone
• (11:52) - Spoilery Summary
• (15:13) - Matt was late on his reading
• (15:45) - The Pride Reveal
• (17:30) - There’s a lot of war crimes going on here
• (30:25) - The openness of the big bads
• (35:14) - Brotherhood differences
• (37:35) - Arakawa loves big boobs
• (38:33) - Some FMA ships
• (41:42) - The chess pieces
• (43:38) - Scout’s favorite Elric brothers moments
• (47:55) - BIG ENVY
• (53:56) - 2003 differences
• (55:36) - Al’s body
• (56:13) - Hughes!
• (57:02) - Greedling
• (01:01:24) - Sloth’s transmutation circle
• (01:07:15) - Arakawa’s planning
• (01:09:22) - The human sacrifices
• (01:12:33) - Winry and Scar
• (01:22:12) - Dr. Knox
• (01:26:29) - Listener Questions
• (01:31:51) - Further Reading

• You can find more of Hiromu Arakawa’s work in her completed series Silver Spoon and ongoing series Daemons of the Shadow Realm (second of which has recently begun airing its anime adaptation!)
• If you find yourself thinking “man, these fight scenes are pretty cool, I wonder what they’d look like if someone animated the hell out of them,” Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood can be found on many streaming services
• If you find yourself thinking “wow, I’m really enjoying how this shonen adventure story is also about the horrors of war and government corruption”, I would recommend Hunter x Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi

A comics podcast for everyone, proud to be a part of The Worst Garbage network.

Find us on Bluesky or Tumblr.

This week’s panelists can be found at:
Scout
Matt

Jillian

Editing this week by AJ Fillari.
Cover art by Scout Wilkinson.
Intro/Outro music by Boqeh.

Come along with the panelists as we venture back to the mythical, long-ago land of 2012. Cape comics are on the show once more with Marvel's Hawkeye, as written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by a large team of artists (David Aja chief among them). The story of oft-ignored Avenger Clint Barton and his protege Kate Bishop takes us coast-to-coast and through half a dozen different art styles, but at the heart of it lies the question...Just how far can the lone wolf archetype actually get you?

• (00:00) - “Hawkeye” by Matt Fraction & David Aja
• (00:20) - Front Matter
• (01:19) - Non-spoiler summary
• (01:46) - Impressions
• (04:49) - Structure & time
• (06:40) - Art!
• (14:08) - Do you need to know the characters?
• (20:44) - Understanding this comic
• (24:29) - Some soul-searching
• (31:58) - SPOILER ZONE
• (32:46) - Bro
• (34:18) - The humor
• (39:01) - The women in Clint’s life
• (42:58) - Some great paneling
• (46:55) - The LA stuff
• (52:29) - RIP Encounter Restaurant
• (52:58) - The gay couple
• (55:18) - Madame Masque’s design
• (56:43) - When Clint loses his hearing
• (59:26) - Pizza is my business
• (01:06:59) - Issue 10
• (01:08:26) - Kate’s shirt
• (01:09:23) - Kate’s car
• (01:10:22) - The color script
• (01:14:27) - The last 2 pages
• (01:19:10) - Further reading

- Matt Fraction’s “Batman”
- David Aja’s “Immortal Iron Fist”
- Mark Waid’s “Daredevil”
- Jimmy Corrigan the smartest kid on earth - Chris Ware
- Gillen and McKelvie’s “Young Avengers”

A comics podcast for everyone, proud to be a part of The Worst Garbage network.

Find us on Bluesky or Tumblr.

This week’s panelists can be found at:
Scout
Matt
Robin

Jillian

Editing this week by AJ Fillari.
Cover art by Scout Wilkinson.
Intro/Outro music by Boqeh.

Today the Panelists discuss the young adult horror novel Hello Sunshine by Keezy Young. This one's got everything you could want. Secret gay boyfriends. 60's fashion and art inspiration. An amateur murder investigation. Demons. And a cute dog.

Content Warning: self-harm, suicide, murder, mental illness, psychosis, and homophobia

• (00:00) - “Hello Sunshine” by Keezy Young
• (00:35) - Front Matter
• (01:09) - Content Warnings
• (01:27) - Impressions
• (04:12) - The pace of the book
• (07:16) - Noah ❤️
• (09:00) - Jamie
• (10:20) - Sky
• (10:34) - Izzy
• (12:41) - Keezy’s art
• (13:36) - Color scripting
• (15:31) - Faces!
• (17:16) - Fashion Corner
• (19:51) - SPOILER ZONE
• (20:44) - Mrs. Danner is innocent!
• (21:29) - Sky getting told off by her mom
• (22:39) - Horror & Mental Health
• (31:33) - A personal experience of psychosis
• (34:02) - This story works best as a comic
• (36:35) - This book is scary!
• (40:11) - Madame Rainbow is [REDACTED]
• (44:14) - Informative but not Didactic
• (46:12) - Noah and Alex in the field of flowers
• (48:16) - Trans rep
• (52:11) - Speech patterns of the kids
• (52:58) - Read the Afterword
• (54:34) - Further Reading

- Just Going For a Walk by Keezy Young

- Sunflowers by Keezy Young

A comics podcast for everyone, proud to be a part of The Worst Garbage network.

Find us on Bluesky or Tumblr.

This week’s panelists can be found at:
Scout
Matt
Robin

Jillian

Editing this week by AJ Fillari.
Cover art by Scout Wilkinson.
Intro/Outro music by Boqeh.