In his ongoing comic, Reel Politik, Nathan Gelgud harnesses the daily gag strip to explore cinema through the lens of radical politics (or radical politics through the lens of cinema??). The strip is peopled with a goofy but determined cast of characters hell-bent on fomenting Marxist-Leninist revolution by whatever means are available to them, having turned a small-town theater into a radical cell. The first collection of the strip has recently been released by Drawn & Quarterly.

In this episode, Nathan and I talk about his relationship to film and politics, and how these became the main focus of his comics-making. We also dive into essay-comics, Godard, sci-fi, the joys of a daily comic practice, and Nathan's revulsion at the word "practice."

Thanks as ever to Jason Butler, our heroic producer & sound engineer!

Links

Nathan's website

Nathan's instagram

Reel Politik at D&Q

Miami Review of Comics on instagram

Drew's free patreon

Jason Butler's website

Jason Butler's instagram

This past spring, cartoonist Katie Lane had two books come out right at the same time: Single Camera Sitcom (Comics Blogger Books) and Girls Gone Wild #1 (2DCloud). In both works, Katie explores the struggles at the heart of our most intimate relationships and choices, with wit and sensitivity and candor. But the first thing the reader is likely to notice is the extreme visual shift from one book to the next.

Single Camera Sitcom, composed between 2019 and 2022, relies on bright digital collage and a variety of textual levels to tell a post-college picaresque. Girls Gone Wild #1, composed in 2025, unspools its more claustrophobic stories in spidery text and inky figure drawings.

It was a pleasure to have Katie on to chat about both of these works, how they were made, and what inspired such a radical change in her approach to cartooning.

Thanks as always to Jason Butler for producing the episode!

And thanks to Katie's friend Walter for providing the theme from Single Camera Sitcom, which you can hear at the end of the episode.

Links

Single Camera Sitcom at Comics Blogger

Girls Gone Wild #1 at 2DCloud

Katie's instagram

Katie's shop

Piece ft. Katie and Angela Fanche at TCJ

Miami Review of Comics instagram

Drew's instagram

Drew's free patreon

Jason Butler's website

Jason Butler's instagram

What's the relationship between comics and folk tales? Are cartoon characters and folkloric figures made of the same eternal shape-shifting goop? And what happens when they show up at different historical moments ... in the English Midlands, say?

Today's guest, Michael Kennedy, is the author of Milk White Steed, a grandly ambitious collection of comics that explores history and narrative genre with equal fervor, making it the perfect springboard to have a good ol' think on all these questions and more.

Thank you to Jason Butler, as always, for producing this episode.

Xylophone outro by Roman Muradov X Tana Oshima -- thx frens! (Our wholesome intro music lives to fight another day.)

Links

Michael Kennedy website

Michael Kennedy instagram

Milk White Steed at D+Q

Miami Review of Comics instagram

Drew's instagram

Drew's free patreon

Jason Butler's website

Jason Butler's instagram