Trade School

Want to read Crisis on Infinite Earths but not sure where to start? Jon Hook is back on Trade School with a collector’s guide to DC’s latest editions of the legendary event. He compares the affordable Compact release, the enormous DC Finest collection with its mountain of crossover issues, and the lavish Absolute edition for readers who want the full shelf-piece experience.

What if all those stories about rock stars selling their souls to the devil were true? Keith Lehtinen returns to Trade School to spotlight This Damned Band by Paul Cornell and Tony Parker, a darkly funny horror comic about fame, music, bad decisions, and what happens when the bill finally comes due. With a great ensemble cast, wild psychedelic horror, and a deeply satisfying payoff, this is one of Keith’s favorite under-the-radar Dark Horse books.

Everybody knows Invincible. Far fewer people talk about Capes. Case Aiken is here to fix that. This week on Trade School, he looks at Robert Kirkman and Mark Englert’s superhero workplace comedy about what happens when saving the world is a salaried position; complete with lunch breaks, performance reviews, giant battles, terrible puns, and exactly the kind of sudden brutality you’d expect from the Invincible universe. It’s weird, funny, rough around the edges, and absolutely worth rediscovering.

Gillian Wiebe takes over Trade School to revisit Hawkeye: Little Hits, the comic that helped turn Matt Fraction and David Aja’s Hawkeye into a modern classic. From Hurricane Sandy and the Tracksuit Mafia to tragedy, community, and an unforgettable issue told from Lucky the Pizza Dog’s perspective, this volume shows just how much comics can do when creators fully embrace the visual language of the medium.

This week on Trade School, John Hook ventures into Mike Mignola’s Lands Unknown, a bizarre, folklore-soaked fantasy realm filled with corpses, gods, scholars, monsters, and plenty of things that probably should not be trusted. John walks through Bowling with Corpses and Yuri Tupka and the Gods and explains why this growing universe is such an exciting new playground for Mignola; and why now is the ideal time to start reading.

This week on Trade School, Keith Lehtinen spotlights Karmen, the hauntingly beautiful Image Comics series by Guillem March. It’s a story about a young woman named Catalina, the reaper assigned to guide her after death, and the emotional weight of looking back on a life too soon interrupted. If you want a comic that is gorgeous, heartbreaking, romantic, and weird in exactly the right way, Keith is here to tell you why Karmen belongs on your shelf.

This week on Trade School, Case Aiken dives into The Tick: The Naked City, the collection that first showed him just how weird, smart, and funny The Tick could be on the comics page. Ben Edlund’s original series is not just a superhero parody; it is a gleeful dismantling of capes, secret identities, ninjas, publicity-hungry heroes, and the entire idea of what a superhero world is supposed to look like. Listen to the episode, then go read the book. Spoon!

For Trade School’s 50th episode, Case Aiken, Alan Kistler, and Keith Lehtinen revisit Marvels, the Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross masterpiece that asks what the Marvel Universe looks like to the people on the ground. By filtering iconic moments through photojournalist Phil Sheldon, Marvels turns continuity into lived history and spectacle into something emotional, terrifying, and beautiful. It’s one of the best arguments ever made for why superhero comics matter.

We’re back with another episode of Trade School! This time, we’re talking about Hulk: Gray! Our host this week is Logan Crowley!

We’re back with another episode of Trade School! This time, we’re talking about Batman: Strange Apparitions! Our host this week is John Patrick Bray!

We’re back with another episode of Trade School! This time, we’re talking about The Thing: The King of Yancy Street! Our host this week is Logan Crowley!

We’re back with another episode of Trade School! This time, we’re talking about Teen Titans: Raven! Our host this week is Keith Lehtinen!

We’re back with another episode of Trade School! This time, we’re talking about Titans: Scissors, Paper, Stone! Our host this week is Case Aiken!

We’re back with another episode of Trade School! This time, we’re talking about Superman: Emperor Joker! Our host this week is Anthony Desiato!

We’re back with another episode of Trade School! This time, we’re talking about Astro City: The Tarnished Angel! Our host this week is Logan Crowley!

We’re back with another episode of Trade School! This time, we’re talking about Punisher MAX! Our host this week is Jesse Fresco!

We’re back with another episode of Trade School! This time, we’re talking about Bolero Our host this week is Keith Lehtinen!

We’re back with another episode of Trade School! This time, we’re talking about Legion of Superheroes: The Great Darkness Saga! Our host this week is Case Aiken!

We’re back with another episode of Trade School! This time, we’re talking about Catwoman: Trail of the Catwoman! Our host this week is Jane Parker!

We’re back with another episode of Trade School! This time, we’re talking about Superman For All Seasons! Our host this week is Logan Crowley!