Wayward Vol. 1 with Keith Lehtinen

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

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Edited by Case Aiken

Scored by Bret Eagleston

Certain Point Of View is a podcast network brining you all sorts of nerdy goodness! From Star Wars role playing, to Disney day dreaming, to video game love, we've got the show for you! Learn more on our website: https://www.certainpov.com

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Outline

Introduction to Certain Point of View’s Trade School & Episode Overview (00:00 - 01:13)
Keith Letzinen introduces the podcast concept where hosts discuss beloved comic book trade paperbacks.
This talk about Wayward will be unscripted and personal.
Introduction to Wayward and Creators (01:13 - 01:50)
Keith introduces the comic Wayward from Image Comics.
He shares his background as a Marvel and Vertigo reader and how this book stood out to him.
Personal Context and Interview Experience with Jim Zub (01:50 - 02:38)
Keith describes interviewing Jim Zub years ago.
He was captivated by Wayward despite it not being the interview focus.
Japanese Cultural Elements and Essay by Zach Davison (02:38 - 04:06)
Keith praises an essay by Zach Davison included in the trade paperback.
It aligns with Zach’s expertise and passion for Japanese culture.
Plot and Character Overview of Wayward (04:06 - 05:37)
The story centers on Rory, a half-Irish, half-Japanese girl moving to Japan.
Keith expresses a deep affection for Rory as a character.
Artistic Authenticity and Personal Japan Experience (05:37 - 07:09)
Keith appreciates how artist Stephen Cummings captured authentic Japanese scenery.
He shares his personal trip to Japan and how this resonance deepened his connection to the comic.
Character Introductions and Relationships (07:09 - 08:43)
Keith highlights key characters Rory interacts with: Ayane the cat girl, Shirai the dreamy but goofy boy, Nikaido the sweet and soft boy.
He admires character dynamics and the culturally-infused monster designs.
Challenges in Recommending the Book & Praise for Its Impact (08:43 - 10:16)
Keith admits he’s hesitant to recommend Wayward due to his intense personal connection.
He describes purchasing many variants and holding hope for a TV adaptation and board game.
Encouragement to Read & Community Engagement (10:16 - 10:42)
Keith strongly recommends Wayward (30 issues) to fans of anime and school stories.
He invites listeners to connect with him via social media and the Certain POV Discord.
Upcoming Shows and Call for Show Naming Suggestions (10:42 - 11:41)
Keith and Josue discuss reviewing many new comics from various publishers.
They express the need for a catchy, punny name for their comic review show.

Transcription

00:00
Welcome to Certain Point of View's Trade School, where each episode, a different host talks about a comic book trade paperback that they loved and why they love it.

00:08
Hello, my name is Keith Letzinen, host of Certain POV comic book review show. We have issues. You've heard my voice a couple times on Trade School. So far, I've talked about various Marvel books, about the burgeoning generation of heroes in the early 2000s, and I talked about a dark Christmas horror tale in the past. But I'm gonna do something a little different. I'm gonna peek behind the curtain for you guys. When I do these things, I script them entirely. I sit down and I write every word I'm gonna say so I can time it out. I can make sure it's the right time length, and just make sure that it's, you know, that it sounds professional. And the book I'm talking about today, I couldn't do that. I'm literally. I have some notes, but it's like little. Little bit notes. They're nothing.

00:52
Nothing really big here. I. It's because I'm talking about a book I love. I like all those other books. They're really good. But there's very few comics that I can say are my favorite comics of all time that I could read 100 times and never get sick of. And I'm actually here to talk about one of those books. I'm here to talk about Wayward from Image Comics. This. This is a book written by Jim Zub, drawn by Stephen Cummings, colors by Temra Ball, and Villain. Although there are several other people coloring at different points. Flats by Ludwig Olimba, and Letters by Marshall Dillon. This book. How do I put this? Okay, so I grew up on Marvel Comics. I read some DC comics, and then I was a kid of the Vertigo scene. So I've read a little bit of every different kind comic.

01:46
But this book really stopped me when I read it for the first time. And it's really important to me, and to explain why, I'm going to give you a little background on me. I interviewed Jim Zub a while ago when I was with a different network. The pattern at that point was I would have interviews set up for me, and then I would interview the person. It wasn't something I would seek out, and the person doing so never really checked with me if I knew who the people were. So a lot of times it set up an interview, and then I would have to, like, read everything that person did because I want to be a good interviewer and it's one of the reasons I don't do interviews anymore because it was stressful.

02:30
But I got to interview Jim Zub and I was reading through his back catalog. This was years ago, by the way. And I came across Wayward and that interview. I had to stop myself from just talking about Wayward because I loved it so much. That's not what he was there to promote. I was just wanting to talk about Wayward and it really captured my imagination. I'm going to talk a bit about it. It's a Japanese tale in a comic book form and I do want to bring attention to. If you got the trade, there is. Okay, there's an awesome essay at the beginning by Zach Davison. Now here's the thing. This is the very funny thing.

03:15
When I didn't have the trade, I had the single issues and I was reading back through the trade and I was like, oh, you know who I want to send a message to on Blue sky is Zach Davison. Because I tag him all the time. He's the script adapter for Peach, Momoco and you know, Variety, other projects. And someone that I always tag whenever I do a project because I know that they would appreciate it. And I was like, oh, this is just a book that Zach would really like. And then I open up and the first page is an essay from Zach Davidson. And I'm like, yeah, I was right. For those who don't know, Zach is very much into like the heart of Japan, the real Japan. And that's one of the reasons why Zack partners so well with Peach.

04:06
I promise I'm not going to talk about Zach Davidson the entire time, but I love this essay and you should read it. I think it's one of the best promotional essays I've ever seen in a trade. And it really makes me love this book even more than I already do, which is pretty difficult. Let's talk about the book. The core of this book is a girl who is half Irish, half Japanese, finally coming to live with her mother in Japan after all this time and living in Ireland. And how do I put. Rory is one of my favorite protagonists of all time. She's instantly likable in every way possible. I adore her. I think about like 16 year old me would have killed to meet this girl. Like that would have been my biggest crush in the world. Reading this.

05:01
16 year old me fell in love with her and you know, as the story goes on, my heart breaks for her in different ways. You'll see if you read the book when you read the book, but so she experiences Japan. And when I interviewed Jim, one of the things he told me about the incredible art that Stephen Cummings does is Steven is in Japan. Stephen actually went to places, took pictures of locations from different angles and said, hey, this looks like a good angle. So all these places are real. All these pieces look so authentic. And that really transformed it for me because I also took a trip to Japan. I spent like two and a half weeks in Japan. And yes, I didn't live there. I was a tourist, but it was an extended stay. And I tried to.

05:55
I tried to not stick to the touristy areas as much as I could. I wanted to kind of like walk around, experience it. I'm a big white boy, so it was kind of weird, but. And I just loved the feel of Japan. It's a city. And like, again, I go back to Zach's essay about it. It's just. It really captures the heart of it. And like, people think Japan's this mystical place, but Japan is just this amazing city where people go on with their daily lives. If you've ever taken the last train in the middle of the night, you understand, like, it's just incredible. I love it. But Rory's landing, her plane landing in Japan. The whole first issue and especially that first two page spread is probably one of my favorite, like, single issue or single pages of comics ever. I've never really.

06:47
I don't think I've ever had loved a book or page more than I want a poster. That's so bad. But Rory has to adjust to living in Japan and that includes struggling with the language, not speaking it fluently all the time, and at the same time dealing with the fact that she suddenly manifests superpowers. And it's so interesting. The powers are cool and unique and she starts meeting other people. She meets Ayane, which is a cat girl who has the best energy ever. There's a scene with her at the very beginning where she wants a strawberry milk that I love. Shirai is just a dreamy, broody boy, but also kind of goofy in a really great way. Nikaido, sweet Sadagas, the sweet, soft boy. Just like all these tropes that just get to me and I love so much.

07:39
They're all here and I love them. I love this book so much. The heart of these characters. The thing is, I'm trying not to Talk Beyond Volume 1, which is a challenge considering the cliffhanger you're left on. But, God, it's Just. I guess I could sum it up this way. This is a book I have trouble recommending to anybody. Not because I don't think it's good and they won't enjoy it, but because if they don't enjoy it, I worry I might think something less of them. Like, I'm like, wait, you didn't like it? Why? What's wrong with you? I just, I have so much loyalty to this book. I love it so much. The characters are just so engaging and so much fun. The monster design, the kappas are so cool looking. Yeah. And I love it so much.

08:29
One of my favorite things about the essay Zach does is saying that basically Zach was sold on the book that he immediately basically begged to do these like, info page files about the different yokai in the book. Which is great. And I love that. Like, it's so good. I'm having trouble. It's like saying exactly what I want to say about this book. Because I do love it. I will say, like, I bought every variant of number one. Like, pretty much like, I spent way too much money on this comic for the fact that it's not going on any longer. I'm still holding out hope for a TV series. I still want the board game. Like, there's a board game out there. I don't have it. I want it. Like, I love this book.

09:14
And this is a book that made me fall in love with Jim Zub as a writer and really like one of the books that my time being an interviewer introduced me to and really made my comic book reading life better. I cannot recommend Wayward Enough. If you can't. If you gather that it's incredible, it's 30 issues. And just if you like any kind of anime, if you like any kind of school story, I compare it to Persona a lot. Persona feels really lived in, especially five if you like that feel. If you want to experience Japan without being able to afford the ticket and the 15 hour flight, I just, I can't recommend it enough. It's. It's a game changer for me. That's. That's all I can really say about it. With that said, though, of course, make sure to check me out.

10:13
On Instagram we have Issues Pod. Also on Blue sky we have issues bsky.social. And make sure to check out the certain POV discord@certainpow.com. We'd love to have you on there. Also make sure to reach out to case if you want to do one of these shows. If you think this sounded like fun you say, hey, I love a comic reach out to case. But with that said, everybody, thank you so much for listening and happy reading. All right, Josue, let's go through our new comic day stack. We have a lot to review. I know. Maybe we've gone too far. Let's see. Marvel, of course, dc. I got Image, Dark Horse, Black Mask, Boom. Idw, Aftershock, Balt, of course, Mad Cave, Ony, Valiant, Stout, Magma, Behemoth. Wow, That's a lot. Oh. All we need now is a name for our show.

11:09
We need a name for a show about reviewing comic books every week. Something clever, but not too clever, like a pun. It's kind of cheesy. Yeah, it's something that seems funny at first, but we might regret later on as an impulsive decision. A few dozen episodes in. Yeah, we'll think of something. Join Keith and Osway for we have issues with weekly show reviewing. Almost every new comic released each week available on Deak Elite Media and wherever you listen to your podcasts.

11:38
Certainpov.com.

Case AikenFebruary 5, 2026Comment