The Hootchbox! I wonder how many of you out there were reading when it made its first appearance, nearly four years ago, in episode 133, or for its spectacular destruction at the hands of Lincoln two months later.

I've formed something of a ritual lately around The Death of Comics podcast. Just as Trade Secrets keeps me informed about little corners of the trade publication world that I would otherwise have entirely missed, The Death of Comics is a very fine resource for keeping up with the week-to-week releases of single issues. They review perhaps ten comics a week, of which at least a couple are off the beaten path. There are four of them - Ryan, who leads the show by pure force of understated charisma. Brent, who every episode asks at least one question about comic structuring and intent that you still debate in your head for a while after the show is over. Alex, who puts forth wonderfully large claims for Ryan to deconstruct, but who also represents us Marvelites nicely. And Kyle! Together, they work marvelously. I'd suggest, to start, skipping ahead to their comic reviews, as the introductory half hour or so of chatting makes more sense once you've gotten the hang of the group dynamic. For me, what often decides whether I listen to a podcast regularly or not is Honesty - are these people themselves or are they playing constructed roles which in turn force them into taking artificial positions? The reason why Trade Secrets and TDOC are among my regular rituals is that they both radiate this honesty in spades. For TDOC, I feel that Ryan leads the way in this in a manner that can only be understood when you listen to him trying to arrive at an overall opinion about a book he's as of yet unsure about. There is an utter lack of pretense there, a true desire to figure out HOW these books are engaging with him, which leads the rest of the casters along. The result is that you get a very good notion for how that book operates which is much more useful as a guide for Trying Out New Books than the more constructed, news-y type reviews out there. In short, I am an addict - check it out!

In other news, I am finally DONE with all the ECCC sketch commissions, so if you had one and you left your mailing address/email and don't get it by Wednesday, drop me a mail at TheCount@ftg-comic.com!

- Dolby von Luckner