While the characterization of Spidey in Amazing Spider-Man 2 is still spot-on, not much else in the movie is. Tim and Mulele discuss the myriad problems, and occasional strong points, of this 2014 film. (Originally published on Patreon July 4, 2020.)

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FLASHBACK! In 1970, four students died when national guardsman inexplicably opened fire during an anti-war protest at Kent State University. The craziness of 2020 has hindered planned observances of the craziness of 1970, but we do get this: Derf Backderf‘s Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio, a moving account of May 1-4, 1970, through the eyes of those who lost their lives.

In this episode, Tim and Kumar review the book, to be released September 8, and then Tim chats with Derf himself, answering our questions about the tragedy and the book. (Originally published September 2, 2020.)

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A number of interesting graphic novels have been brought to our attention recently — works with laugh-out-loud moments and deeper meanings as well. We review three of them in this episode:

• • Heaven by Katie Skelly is a Fantagraphics book about a haunted strip club. Jason joins Tim to discuss it.
  • Was That Normal? by Alex Potts (Avery Hill) gives us a neurodivergent main character and a vague threat from a crumbling tower. Adam and Tim review it.
  • John of the Night (Avery Hill) is a wild scifi epic by Darryl Cunningham. As Emmet and Tim will discuss, Cunningham normally publishes fact-based comics journalism, such as bios of Ayn Rand and Vladimir Putin, but this time he turns in a really enjoyable work of fiction.

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