Category Archives: Graphic Policy Radio

Dungeons & Dragons and IP Law: Getting Lawful Neutral with Linda Codega

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Swift fan organizing gets the goods! Dungeons & Dragons planned to change how independent content creators could monetize their D&D-related work, but backlash caused the Hasbro-owned company to change the controversial plan. Hear what this Gargantuan news from the world of tabletop role playing games means for comics fans and fandom at large with the TTRPG reporter who broke the story, Linda Codega.

Keep up with Codega’s reporting here https://gizmodo.com/author/lcodega

http://lindahcodega.com/ 

Listen to the GP Radio guide to getting into TTRPGs – https://bit.ly/ttrpgGP 

Graphic Policy Radio: X-Men and the MLK Legacy Roundtable

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One of our most listened to episodes of Graphic Policy Radio discussed the X-Men and their use as an allegory of the civil rights, it covered the series throughout its many incarnations and writers. The discussion also veered into the depiction of minorities in “comic” entertainment and Marvel’s continuity. In honor of MLK Day, we present that podcast discussion.

Guests joining in on the conversation were:

  • Steve Attewell – A political & union activist, Steve holds a PhD in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the founder and writer of Race for the Iron Throne as well as The Realignment Project
  • David Brothers – David works for a comics publisher, blogs about stuff at 4thletter.net, & tweets about everything at @hermanos. Find his life story at iamdavidbrothers.com.
  • Gene Demby – Gene Demby is an American writer and journalist & the lead blogger for NPR’s Code Switch team.
  • Emma Houxbois – Emma is a queer blogger for hire out of Vancouver, BC most recently attached to Girls Read Comics. Follow her @emmahouxbois
  • Kendra James – a blogger who writes on race, comics, television & more for Racialicious, follow her @wriglied

You can listen to the archive above or go here and download it for on the go.

What are the top 50 comic book events of all time?

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Shelfdust.com asked 150 comic book critics to list our favorite event storylines, “You know the type – something big, dramatic, crossing over a dozen different comics across the course of a few months, with everybody being effected by whatever it is that happens at the end of the story. Whether it be a Crisis or War of some kind, or just the latest in an annual routine which sees Earth invaded by some kind of bigger and badder threat than any that Earth has seen for, well, at least six months or so.”- Steve Morris, founder of Shelfdust.

Critic Steve Morris joins us to talk about the results of the critics poll, what makes for a great event and what even counts as an event anyway!

Read the lists of top 50 comics events: https://shelfdust.com/tag/top-fifty-comic-book-events/

Support Shelfdust – https://www.patreon.com/shelfdust

My essay on OMAC for Shelfdust’s notorious Infinite Crisis series https://shelfdust.com/2020/10/08/infinite-crisis-with-elana-levin-who-or-what-is-omac/

Andor S1 part 2: “The Internationale” Goes Intergalactic, Star Wars Style

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Listen to this on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.

Rebel organizer Charles Lenchner and Jedi Master Klaudia Amenábar return to cover the second half of Andor season 1, showrunner Tony Gilroy’s revolutionary Star Wars show– which airs, somehow on Disney+. 

In part 1 of my podcast’s Andor coverage (listen to that episode first https://bit.ly/ComradeAndor) we joked about a Star Wars reimagining of “The Internationale”. I loved the idea so much, that we made one. Original melody composed by Pierre De Geyter, Star Wars-ified lyrics by Katie Unger. Vocals by me while I was sick with COVID but didn’t know it yet (hence the delayed release of this podcast and my less than polished singing). 

Check out Klaudia’s podcast: RuPalp’s Podrace: A Queer Star Wars Podcast https://rupalps-podrace-a-queer-star-wars-podcast.simplecast.com/ and find more of her writing and Star Wars resources https://linktr.ee/kaludiasays

Follow Charles Lenchner on twitter (for now – https://twitter.com/clenchner ) 

Black Panther Wakanda Forever: Film Critics and Movement Organizers Discuss

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From the sound of Mayan spoken in a Marvel movie, to the beauty of wearing a mask to breathe, Ryan Coogler’s new Black Panther movie, Wakanda Forever has a lot to say.

And so does my panel of experts:

Moji Alawode-El, Feminist Buzzkills Podcast https://www.aafront.org/fbklive/

Marcus Pinn,  Zebras in America podcast / Pinnland Empire film blog http://www.pinnlandempire.com/

Felicia Perez, Head of Memes at TaskForce.US . https://www.feliciaperez.com/

PS there is an audio glitch when Elana is explaining Riri Williams. Elana is trying to say that in the comics the character Riri Williams was specifically designed to be a superhero.

Andor: Star Wars rebels and real world revolutionaries. Part 1

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Listen on Libsyn, YouTube, Apple or Spotify.

Comrade Nemik isn’t alone in developing a revolutionary analysis of the world of Star Wars. My expert guests bring a knowledge of the history of revolutions, the Star Wars mythos and real world activism to their analysis of the first 7 episodes of the series, Andor.

“I do love when Star Wars is like, yes, I know they’re Nazis, but did you know they’re also the United States” –  Klaudia Amenábar, RuPalp’s Podrace

“Both sides are attempting to use polarization to advance their goals.” – Charles Lenchner, Organizing 2.0/former political prisoner. 

“What is the Rebels’ Ladder of Engagement?” – Elana Levin, host/ Organizing 2.0.

The first approx 20 minutes of this episode are entirely spoiler-free. 

For Klaudia’s podcasts, writing and social media  https://linktr.ee/kaludiasays

For an uncorrected transcript of this episode: https://share.descript.com/view/obP89Xhg4Wr

For people imagining a Star Wars version of The Internationale, stay till the end.

Blade Maidens: Sword Lesbians, Monsters, Magic, Disaster Humans in a webcomic

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Blade Maidens is a fantasy adventure romance comic starring two disaster mercenaries trying to get by. Read it online for free at https://www.blademaidens.com/

The series’ creators joined me to talk about their fantastic debut series. Also, the X-Men, a little.

Valentine Smith is a writer, illustrator, and comic artist. They were shaped by a love of horror movies, music, and comicbooks. Their website has the wonderful X-Men fan comics the team made prior to making their own series. http://www.valentinemsmith.com/

Zoe Tunnell is a trans, lesbian writer who previously wrote criticism and essays for sites like WWAC and ComicsXF and has transitioned (for the second time in her life!) into writing comics proper with Blade Maidens. Follow her https://twitter.com/blankzilla

The Venture Bros Podcast: S1 ep 13: Return to Spider-Skull Island

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Let’s Do the Time Warp Again as we cover a classic episode of The Venture Bros animated series: Season 1 finale, “Return to Spider-Skull Island,” aka that Easy Rider episode. 

Professor Steven Attewell and I (Elana Levin) will walk you through a classic Venture Bros episode. We’ll explain the film history, music and all the themes and references in this episode which draws a ton from two iconic movies that had huge subcultural impact. Also, I sing more than normal. 

Follow me, Elana Levin https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn and my co-host, historian Steven Attewell, Phd. https://racefortheironthrone.tumblr.com/

The Sandman TV Series Part 1: with a City Councilman & a GLAAD Award Nom Writer

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As Neil Gaiman wrote, “The price of getting what you want is getting what you once wanted.” So what of the new Netflix TV series based on the groundbreaking comics series we grew-up on, The Sandman?  Join Sandman fans as we talk about the comics we loved and our thoughts about the first four episodes of the new series. The first part of the episode is spoiler-free.

Apollo Gonzales is a digital strategist who advises progressive advocacy campaigns on engaging and mobilizing their communities. He sits on the board of Climate Access, a nonprofit  focused on building political and public support for climate and clean energy solutions, and Our Back Yards https://ioby.org/ a nonprofit crowdfunding platform whose mission is funding community led projects. Apollo is also holds public office, and serves on city council in the small Texas town of Brookside Village.

Ben Kahn is a GLAAD Award nominated writer of comics and novels. You can check out their comics including the GLAAD nominated graphic novel Renegade Rule, and the soon to be re-released in bookstores Heavenly Blues. Their debut novel, Elle Campbell Saves Their Saturday, will be out from Scholastic in Fall 2023. https://twitter.com/BenTheKahn Their podcast is Progressively Horrified https://progressivelyhorrified.transistor.fm/

Thor Love and Thunder: Pasifika, Indigenous, Queer, Disabled perspectives

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Fresh perspectives on Taika Waititi‘s latest for Marvel. Let’s see how Thor Love and Thunder applies the organizing adage: “closer to the problem = closer to the solution”.

Jeanne is a Queer Biracial Tongan media critic and author known for sharing her unique perspective on popular media on Twitter, guest appearances on podcasts, and arguing in bars about temporal paradoxes.  https://twitter.com/fangirlJeanne.

Johnnie Jae is an Otoe-Missouria and Choctaw founder, journalist, organizer, creator, and futurist empowering others to chase their passions and create for healing and revolutionary change. She is the founder of A Tribe Called Geek, an award-winning media platform for Indigenous Geek Culture and STEM, and #Indigenerds4Hope, a suicide prevention initiative designed to educate, encourage, and empower Native youth. Jae is a co-founder of Not Your Mascots and LiveIndigenousOK as well as a founding member of the Fan Organizer Coalition. 

Jena English is an educator/filmmaker currently teaching film and media at a girls school in Los Angeles. She is also a graphic designer and photographer. Her most recent project is Validation, a web series about the life and times of a parking attendant with a heart of gold. https://vimeo.com/showcase/8749735

PS Jean’s epic Thor tread is a must-read https://twitter.com/fangirlJeanne/status/1551661323456356352

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