{"id":3003,"date":"2011-04-18T21:13:40","date_gmt":"2011-04-19T01:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.benzilla.com\/?p=3003"},"modified":"2011-04-18T21:13:40","modified_gmt":"2011-04-19T01:13:40","slug":"my-imaginary-comics-podcast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.benzilla.com\/?p=3003","title":{"rendered":"My (Imaginary) Comics Podcast"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It’s occurred to me lately that there aren’t a lot of great comics podcasts–or to put it more fairly: there aren’t many comics podcasts covering the sorts of comics I’m interested in in a way that I find appealing. I’m a loyal and frequent listener to the Canadian radio show\/podcast Inkstuds<\/a> (a weekly alt comix interview show), but beyond that, there doesn’t seem to be much up my alley on the internet “dial.”<\/p>\n

Reflecting on things, I think the problem is with me<\/em>, not with the podcasts themselves. The DIY trappings of most podcasts (comics or otherwise) just kinda bug me–the rambling unfocused chatting, the interminable and inconsistent lengths of the shows, the ambient background sounds of babies crying or hosts snacking into the mic. I think among poscast aficionados this rough-around-the-edges stuff is part of the appeal. And I can see that to some extent; when Indie Spinner Rack was up and running I came to really enjoy the show despite its being guilty of a lot of the afore-mentioned sins. Generally, though, this stuff just irritates me.<\/p>\n

I’ve got about a bazillion time-consuming, non-paying things going on now, but–just for fun–if I were going to remedy this situation and get a comics podcast going, here’s what I’d do:<\/p>\n

Generally<\/span><\/h2>\n

What to talk about<\/strong>: Indie comics, art comics, offbeat Manga, European comics, non-U.S. comics of any (interesting) variety, superhero comics doing new or innovative stuff.<\/p>\n

What not<\/em> to talk about<\/strong>: Anything other than the above.<\/p>\n

When to talk about it<\/strong>: Once a month. Yeah, that’s not very frequent, but the idea’d be quality over quantity. I’d really want a monthly schedule to provide for time to research each show, record it, and then edit it.<\/p>\n

How long to talk about it<\/strong>: An hour or less. Period.<\/p>\n

Specifically<\/span><\/h2>\n

While there are a number of non-comics podcasts that I enjoy, I think the one I’d take as my model for my Imaginary Comics Podcast is The Dinner Party Download<\/a>. What do I like about it? First, it has a definite focus: it’s designed to help you “win” your weekend social gatherings by supplying you with interesting things to talk about. More than that, though, I like the fact that the show has a regular format of themed segments. They start with a joke, introduce the show, do an interesting\/off beat “moment in history” thing, have a bartender invent a drink based on that event, have a guest on, etc. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Without devoting too much thought to it, here’s the way I’d put together a structured “variety show”-type podcast about indie\/alt\/art\/foreign\/notable comics:<\/p>\n