Episode 224: Reviews of Beowulf, Canopy, and Shadows on the Grave #1 and #2

Time Codes: 00:00:29 - Introduction 00:02:44 - The end of January already? 00:04:25 - Beowulf 00:43:42 - Canopy 00:59:17 - Shadows on the Grave #1 and #2 01:22:23 - Wrap up 01:23:12 - Contact us For this week's episode, Andy and Derek put on their English professor hats, and with a vengeance, when taking on the latest comics version of Beowulf (Image Comics), adapted by Santiago García and David Rubín. While this is not, by far, the only comics adaptation of this classic Old English poem, the guys feel that it's one of the best they've seen. Indeed, Rubín's artwork is particularly suited to the violent action and Beowulf's heroic exploits. And the ending of this text, which takes a significant self-reflective turn, goes on to underscore the guys' appreciation of this adaptation. Next, the Two Guys look at one of the latest releases from Retrofit Comics/Big Planet Comics, Karine Bernadou's Canopy. Neither Derek nor Andy were familiar with Bernadou's work before this book, but they find this a fascinating introduction to the French illustrator. Canopy is an almost completely wordless tale surrounding a young woman trying to make it on her own. But she does so in a surreal wilderness infused with male-centered threats. For their final title of the week, the guys discuss an author who's not gotten enough attention on the podcast...at least from Derek's perspective. The first two issues of Richard Corben's Shadows on the Grave (Dark Horse Comics) are now out, and the guys take on this anthology-like miniseries. These brief stories have a Night Gallery feel, but with an amped up creepy factor. This is all due to the wonderfully disturbing art of Corben, who opts for a black, white, and gray tone rendering, a change from his other recent Dark Horse work.