Advertise on podcast: Comics Syllabus

From DC Universe Infinite, Paul catches up with Gotham Academy: First Year, DCKO: Knightfight, Harley and Ivy, and Absolute Superman. From Marvel Unlimited, Paul checks out some Imperial War minis, Jeff the Land Shark, Runaways, the Mortal Thor, and Miles Morales Spider-Man. Who will win this week’s contest of DC and Marvel champions?? Also, Paul reacts to the IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot’s first year, now on GlobalComix. Subscribe and find video episodes at comicssyllabus.substack.com and find @TwoPlai on social media. Let’s keep reading! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comicssyllabus.substack.com

Summary In this episode of Infinite Unlimited, Paul Lai (twoplai at BlueSky and Insta) returns to discuss the latest comic book releases from Marvel Unlimited and DC Universe Infinite Ultra. From MU, we dive into notable titles such as Black Cat, Spider Gwen, and most of all, Exceptional X-Men #12 by Eve Ewing and Federica Mancin. On DC Universe Infinite, we glance same-day DC KO #2 and the special 2025 anthology issue of Superman: Red and Blue. Super issues include Batman and Robin: Year One #12 and Absolute Batman Annual #1. The episode wraps up with a comparison of Marvel and DC's offerings this week and a mention of GlobalComix carrying (most of) Void Rivals. Subscribe and find us at comicssyllabus.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comicssyllabus.substack.com

On this week’s Comics Syllabus for Kids, Teens, and In-Betweens, Teacher Dad and Cohost Kid matriculate in “Strange Academy,” the 18-issue (with more to come!) Marvel series written by Skottie Young and drawn by Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado. Listen to find out what makes this is great comic for young readers, who our favorite characters (or “Brorsons”) are, and why we loved the series! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comicssyllabus.substack.com

On this week’s Comics Syllabus, we’re proud to share this interview with Irma Kniivila and Tri Vuong, the creators of the new EVERYDAY HERO MACHINE BOY (Image Comics)! We’re totally in love with this action-packed, hilarious, heart-warming comic about an alien robot, Machine Boy, who finds identity, love, and friendship among earthlings like Grandma Karate, Mr. Hound, and a charming (and nefarious?!?) boyband known as “Orphan Universe”! It’s hands-down one of the best comics I’ve read this year. The wildly fun graphic novel is the brainchild of collaborators Vuong and Kniivila. We bring you the full conversation with them about Machine Boy’s origins, their influences, and how these two cartoonists and studio mates reined in their creative chaos to make this magical book. Irma and Tri are wonderful and inspiring to listen to! Some of our conversation was printed at our home at Multiversitycomics.com but we’re pleased to present the whole enchilada (or maybe… bowl of spaghetti?) here at the Comics Syllabus podcast. Check out “Everday Hero Machine Boy” from Image/Skybound, and you can also find Tri Vuong on the super-fun Lego Ninja Garmadon (Image) and Irma Kniivila’s very lovable Year of the Dog. Let’s dig deep! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comicssyllabus.substack.com

This week on Comics Syllabus 4 Kids, Teens, and In-Betweens, Teacher Dad and Cohost Kid chat about the “Captain Marvel” current run written by Kelly Thompson with art by the likes of Carmen Carnero, Lee Garbett, Takeshi Miyakawa, and various others. We also chat about “It’s Jeff!” the Landshark, Central Park on Apple TV, and some of the MCU announcements from D23. Here we gooooooooo…. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comicssyllabus.substack.com

On this episode of Comics Syllabus for Kids, Teens, and Big Green Machines… SHE-HULK! Teacher Dad and Cohost Kid chat about the MCU TV show She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law (after episode 1) and the current “She-Hulk” run from Marvel Comics written by Rainbow Rowell, with art by Rogé Antônio and Luca Maresca. Super cool comics run! We talk Jack of Hearts, Titania fights, and much more! Thanks for tuning in to the Comics Syllabus for Kids, Teens, and In-betweens! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comicssyllabus.substack.com

On this very first REAL REAL episode of Comics Syllabus for Kids, Teens, and In-Betweens… We kick things off with SQUIRREL GIRL: SQUIRREL MEETS WORLD and SQUIRREL GIRL: 2 FUZZY, 2 FURIOUS (Marvel/Disney/Hyperion) by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale, two novels featuring the pre-comics background story of Doreen Green. Listen to Cohost Kid and Teacher Dad go nuts over these fun adaptations into prose of our favorite Marvel character (#SquirrelGirlBoopsTheMCU). Then, we uncover INVISIBLE, an awesome new graphic novel from author Christina Diaz Gonzalez and creator Gabriela Epstein (Scholastic/Graphix), a very cool new young readers graphic novel about friendship, community, and diversity. A group of Latine/Latinx/Latino/a students at a middle school are thrown into community service at the school cafeteria, when they find a chance to help neighbors in need… and find out a lot about each other. Super cool graphic novel for all ages, and we dig into our “YAYS!” and our “meh…s” about INVISIBLE. Thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comicssyllabus.substack.com

ANNOUNCEMENT! For a loooong time, Paul (aka “Teacher Dad”) has been hosting the Comics Syllabus podcast mostly solo, reading widely and digging deep into comics and graphic novels. …But NOW, the day has come for COHOST KID to join EVERY EPISODE OF “Comics Syllabus for Kids, Teens, and In-Betweens.” This is our special announcement pod. (Sorry for the re-duplication— this audio is also attached to the Comics Syllabus main feed podcast combined with audio of the first INFINITE UNLIMITED episode of this era! But if you’re only subscribing to the new Comics Syllabus 4 Kids, Teens, and Inbetweens -only feed here, this will be the first episode that appears.) Every other week, Teacher Dad and Cohost Kid will brave the wide world of graphic novels and comics for all ages, wherever our curiosity and optimism take us. Join us! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comicssyllabus.substack.com

Okay, this is a bit awkward for now… You don’t hear from Comics Syllabus for a while, and then suddenly THE MESSAGES COME POURING INTO YOUR INBOX! Allow me to explain… This episode combines the AUDIO for THE INFINITE UNLIMITED as well as the audio announcement for COMICS SYLLABUS 4 KIDS, TEENS, AND IN-BETWEENS featuring me and the delightful COHOST KID! Yay! So here’s the deal: EVERY TWO WEEKS the “COMICS SYLLABUS for Kids, Teens, and Inbetweens” Podcast will feature Paul (aka “Teacher Dad”) and Cohost Kid talking about comics, graphic novels, and assorted media, aimed at young readers and those who support them. If that’s the only content you’re here for, you can also sign up JUST FOR THAT SPECIAL FEED HERE! https://comicssyllabus.substack.com/s/comics-syllabus AND every week, Paul will talk about new releases on Marvel Unlimited, DCUniverse Infinite, Hoopla, and Substack at “THE INFINITE UNLIMITED” video podcast, which you can subscribe to specifically here: https://comicssyllabus.substack.com/s/the-infinite-unlimited AND periodically, Paul will write posts about learning comics arts, from storytelling to drawing, from fandom to comics studies. You can find that on the main Substack feed at comicssyllabus.substack.com Join us here or there or wherever you are! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comicssyllabus.substack.com

Hi Comics Syllabus friends! SOME of the stuff I mention in this laundry-list episode of what I’ve been reading and watching… The Comics Pull List: Saga, Fire Power, Mind MGMT: Bootleg, She-Hulk, Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings, Batman/Superman World’s Finest, Daredevil, Batman, Swamp Thing, Monkey Prince, Immortal X-Men, Barnstormers and Dudley Datson, and more... Graphic Novels on the Proverbial Nightstand: “Lightfall: The Girl and the Galdurian” and “Lightfall: Shadow of the Bird” by Tim Probert, “Himawari House” by Harmony Becker, “Our Colors” by Gengoroh Tagame. Comics Substacks Shouted Out: Rodney Barnes’s “Dark Apocrypha,” Jeff Lemire’s “Tales from the Farm,” 3 Worlds/3 Moons… and more report cards from Substack Comics Year 1 to come. Other media mentioned: Severance and Slow Horses on Apple TV, The Good Place, Winning Time (HBO), The Sea Beast (Netflix) And sorry! I recorded this with NO mention of the Eisner Award winners just announced or for that matter San Diego ComiCon etc etc… I can chat about that in the next installment of… The Comics Syllabus Poooodddcasssst This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comicssyllabus.substack.com

This week, we go BEYOND with “Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit” by Samira Ahmed, Andrés Genolet, and Triona Farrell (Marvel). We also make mention of the Ms. Marvel Disney+ MCU TV series, as well as mounds of multiverse mysteries. Check out the Comics Syllabus Substack, and find out how you can support Paul’s work on this podcast, at comicssyllabus.substack.com Find the Comics Syllabus at its home at Multiversitycomics.com: http://www.multiversitycomics.com/tag/comics-syllabus/, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, your favorite podcast app, or use this RSS feed. Paul’s on Twitter and Instagram @TwoPlai, and you can also email twoplai at gmail This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comicssyllabus.substack.com

This week, awesome creator Jose Pimienta joins the Comics Syllabus to discuss their upcoming graphic novel “Twin Cities” (Random House Graphic, out July 19, 2022) for middle grade/YA readers about twins growing up in Mexicali / Calexico on the US-Mexico border. Close siblings Teresa’s and Fernando’s coming-of-age (and coming apart?) stories cross national borders and others as well: adolescence and adulthood, culture and schooling, love and rivalry. Jose offers fascinating insight into the book’s origins, their own background growing up in Mexicali, the art and language of “Twin Cities,” and much more! Check out the Comics Syllabus Substack, and find out how you can support Paul’s work on this podcast, at comicssyllabus.substack.com Find the Comics Syllabus at its home at Multiversitycomics.com: http://www.multiversitycomics.com/tag/comics-syllabus/, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, your favorite podcast app, or use this RSS feed. Paul’s on Twitter and Instagram @TwoPlai, and you can also email twoplai at gmail This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comicssyllabus.substack.com

CW: Discussion about violence, including the violence this past week in Texas, and mental health issues. On this week’s Comics Syllabus podcast, I talk about why this past week was difficult for me as a teacher, and as a reader as well. Then, I connect to Emma Grove’s book “The Third Person” from Drawn + Quarterly (2022) and the IDW “Charles Schulz’s Peanuts: Artist Edition” (2014). Also, check out Unpacking Peanuts the podcast: https://www.unpackingpeanuts.com/ Thanks for listening and for your support. Be well. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comicssyllabus.substack.com

This week’s Comics Syllabus… a comic for young readers to learn about investigative journalism, water pollution, and evidence in search of truth: We talk about “The Leak” by Kate Reed Petty and Andrea Bell (First Second, 2021), an exciting middle grade graphic novel about young Ruth’s heroic search to uncover the water polluters in her town. Then, for not-so-young readers, we look at Kaare Kyle Andrews’ “Amazing Fantasy” (Marvel), recently released in a gorgeous treasure edition. Hoping that next time, we’ll talk about “Decorum” by Hickman and Huddleston (Image) and “The Third Person” by Emma Grove (Drawn + Quarterly). Join us here at the Comics Syllabus! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comicssyllabus.substack.com

Cohost Kid joins in today to discuss “Aru Shah and the End of Time” (Disney Hyperion), an adaptation by Joe Caramagna and Anu Chouhan of the first book of the Aru Shah series by Roshani Chokshi. (Note: At one point, Cohost Dad flubs up and refers to “Hindi” gods and goddesses, when of course he meant “Hindu!” Hindu the faith; Hindi the language. C’mon, Cohost Dad, you know better…. My apologies!!!) Then we talk about the “Avengers Assembly” series (two books out so far!) of mixed media novels for kids by Preeti Chhibber and James Lancett (Scholastic), including “Avengers Assembly: Orientation” and “Avengers Assembly: The Sinister Substitute.” Let’s dig deep! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comicssyllabus.substack.com