The Talk of the Saints with Dylan J. Schlender
We’re back with another episode of Trade School! This time, we’re talking about The Talk of the Saints! Our host this week is Dylan J. Schlender!
Want to submit an entry? Email case.aiken@gmail.com
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • iHeartRADIO • RSS
Support us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/CertainPOVMedia
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
Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/wcHHer4
FOLLOW US: ▶ Instagram: @certainpovmedia
Time Stamps
Personal Journey Through Comics (02:52)
2019 life transitions and shifting circumstances
Discovery of DC Universe streaming app for Swamp Thing content
Regular visits to local diner and walking patterns in park
Reading "The Talk of the Saints" comic during period of personal reflection
Comic Book Analysis (04:41)
Swamp Thing character analysis as "gentle giant" with physical strength and tender soul
Plot summary of "The Talk of the Saints" involving boy, monster, and protective dynamics
Exploration of monster themes and questions about what constitutes real monsters
Comic book resolution through destruction versus real-world healing approaches
Therapeutic Framework Discussion (05:26)
Internal Family Systems therapy by Richard Schwartz
Understanding internal parts as managers, firefighters, and protectors
Recognition that internal parts appearing as monsters are actually protective mechanisms
Healing versus destroying approach to internal conflicts and personal growth
Podcast Promotion (06:26)
Reels of Justice weekly podcast format and availability
Social media engagement across multiple platforms
Cross-promotional opportunities and guest appearances
Audience engagement and community building strategies
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
Hi, everyone, this is Dylan J. Schlender from the Reels of Justice podcast. Some might say I'm the principal host. It depends on who you're asking. Case invited me on to Trade School to talk about a comic near and dear to my heart. And I have to admit, I don't read as many comics as I used to. So I thought maybe the right choice wasn't the best comic I have ever read, but something a little more personal. Because here on Trade School, that's the real challenge, isn't it? Anyone with a microphone can get on and tell you how great Watchmen is, but that's not what we're doing here. Not today anyway. So let's begin. My story starts in 2019. 2019 Was an interesting year for me. There were a lot of things shifting in my life, things moving in directions I couldn't have anticipated.
00:55
Maybe I didn't want to anticipate them. Maybe I was better off ignoring them. Maybe I wasn't. Who's to say? Around that time, I picked up the DC app. I'm sure if you're listening to a podcast about comics, you are familiar with the ill fated DC Universe streaming app. The whole reason I got it was to watch Swamp Thing, that new live action series. Oh, it looked so sweet. But with that app came access to hundreds of comics, maybe thousands. Honestly, I don't even know if the app is still around. I don't subscribe anymore. And when it folded into hbo, I ended up watching Game of Thrones like everyone else. Anyway, back to Swamp Thing. I love Swamp Thing. I have always been a fan of characters with hulking physiques like the Hulk, Colossus, Venom, Bane. I mean, I could go on and on.
01:46
I've always admired physical strength as well. But in Swamp Thing, we get more than a burly brute. We get a kind and tender soul that cares. A gentle giant, if you will. Here's a description I can relate to, as I can say with no false modesty. I am possessed of great height, strength and the frame to match. But I do have a sensitive side. Just watch me holding a baby. But yes, Swamp Thing was one of my all time favorite heroes. Favorite movie, favorite comic, favorite toy, you name it. I loved everything Swamp Thing. So here we are in 2019 and I found myself frequenting a small diner near my home, about a four, five minute walk and where I live it's kind of amazing that anything is within a four, five minute walk. Wonderful. People ran it. Real pillars of the community.
02:45
And there was one regular there, Bill, he always ordered the same thing, a blueberry pancake with a poached egg on top. I don't know why I never asked him. But they always took care him and they always took care of me. Sometimes I would go there after a walk around the park, just doing laps, walking in circles. At some point I realized I wasn't just going in circles in the park. I was going in circles in my life. And that brings me to the last comic I have ever read. Sitting in that diner after one of those walks. The talk of the saints. It's a very small story, very parsimonious. Swamp Thing is cut off from the green. Everything is frozen. And he's trying to protect a young boy while something hunts them through the snow.
03:40
The whole time he's disoriented, not entirely sure where he is or what's going on. The boy tells him there's a monster. The boy says Swamp Thing has already fought it off before. He says he fights it every day. If only Swamp Thing could remember. So here we get into spoilers. So go ahead and pause and read the comic book. It's short. Alright, we're back. Eventually, the truth comes out. The monster is the boy. Swamp Thing realizes it. And worse than that, he realizes he cares for the child. He doesn't want to do what he has to do next, but he does it anyway. He embraces the boy and he kills him. The snow melts, the illusion fades, and we are left with that lingering question, what was the monster? Now, the comic itself leans into that question in a fairly standard way.
04:45
Are monsters real? Is Swamp Thing the monster? You know, probably the kid was the real monster, right? That sort of thing. But that's not what stuck with me. What stuck with me was something a little different. What if the boy wasn't something to be destroyed? What if he was something to be healed? I'm a big advocate of internal Family systems therapy. I talked about on Dwight Hearst's fantastic mental health podcast, the Broken Brain. Internal Family Systems was developed by psychiatrist Richard Schwartz. And the idea is that we all have parts inside of us, different parts with different jobs, managers, firefighters, protectors. So, for example, when you say there's a part of me that wants to do this or a part of me that wants to do that, you're not just speaking metaphorically. Those parts are real.
05:45
And sometimes those parts look like monsters, but they're not. They're trying to protect you and help you the only way they know how. Swamp Thing in this comic doesn't have that option. So it seems he doesn't have the option of sitting with it to understand it. He does well, what we'd expect in a comic book, he kills the monster. But you and me, we're not comic book heroes. We don't get the luxury of killing the things inside of us. And honestly, that's probably for the best, because the real work is harder than that. The real work is to sit with those parts, to understand them. Most importantly, to heal them, not to destroy them. And if I'm being honest, I didn't learn that lesson right away. Not sitting in that Diner, not in 2019. It took time.
06:54
But looking back now, I can see it. I was walking in circles, just like Swamp Thing, carrying something I didn't understand, something I thought I had to protect or fight. But maybe I didn't have to do either. That's what I learned. I didn't have to do either. I learned I had to listen to it. I learned I had to heal it. What makes superheroes super is they can do what we can't. But what we have to do might actually be harder. And maybe in the long run, that makes us something a little more than super. I would like to once again thank my good friend Case for inviting me on to share this with all of you. Please reach out to me on any platform under Reels of Justice, and be sure to subscribe to Reels of Justice on your podcast player of choice.
08:03
Every week, we put a film on trial to determine if it's guilty of being a bad movie. Once again, thank you and happy reading.
08:18
Hey, nerf herders, you sure you want.
08:20
To go with that?
08:21
Hey, everyone.
08:23
There we go. More inviting.
08:25
Have you ever had a movie that you really wanted to love but something holds you back?
08:30
Or one that you did love in spite of a flaw?
08:32
Well, I'm Casey.
08:33
And I'm Sam Alicea.
08:35
And on another pass, we sit down with cool guests to look at movies that we find fascinating but flawed. And we try to imagine what could have been done when they were made to give them that little push.
08:46
We're not experts. We just believe in criticism.
08:50
Constructive criticism, sure. But come take another pass at some movies with us.
08:55
And every now and then, we can celebrate movies that did it on their own, too.
08:59
You can find us@ certainpov.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
09:03
Pass it on.
09:07
CPOV certainpov.com.