This week, War Rocket Ajax is proud to welcome one of the funniest creators in comics, Michael Kupperman to the show to talk about his new graphic novel, Mark Twain's Autobiography, 1910 - 2010! And you can listen to the whole show right here at ComicsAlliance!War Rocket Ajax v.2, #10: Lurking In An Alley with Michael Kupperman

(WARNING: Contains NSFW language)


This week on the show, Chris and Matt are grappling with their own mortality, as Chris turns 29 and Matt has difficulty finding a palatable Southern style sweet tea in his Northern home of Chicago. Plus, a listener question leads us to discuss our favorite titles from the Amalgam Age of Comics!

When Michael Kupperman joins us, the discussion moves to his brand of absurdist comedy:

It's about things taking the turn that you don't expect, the ball taking the bounce you don't expect. That for me is an example of trying to make the sentence end up in a place that's different from where it started.

One of my definite favorite chapters is the Ants chapter, where Twain and Einstein are shrunk down and captured by giant ants. What I'm very proud of is the way that it moves through these different idioms, so that the whole experience is being defined by the language, but it's completely different from part to part. First they're slaves of the ants, then it's kind of like a native movie. So, surprise. I think surprise is essential to entertainment, actually. If you can surprise people, you're doing pretty well.

He also talks to us about being a casual fan of super-hero comics:

I had a roommate who was really into them in the '80s, and I read a bunch of stuff that he was bringing home, and some of it I started to become a fan of myself. That was when Alan Moore was doing Swamp Thing. Nexus, I thought that book was really amazing. There was some stuff I liked.

That was also around the time that they did the Crisis On Infinite Earths, which I think is hilarious. That's such a funny series, this kind of thing that's like "This character you remember from your youth, watch them die!"

And we even discover his feelings on the most important issues:

I hate bleu cheese.


All that, plus the amazing revelation of Mark Twain's favorite boy band in this week's episode!

Show Notes:

If you have recommendations on Sweet Tea for Matt, leave them in the comments.

Follow Michael Kupperman's amazing Twitter account, @MKupperman, and check out Mark Twain's Autobiography at Fantagraphics!

If you're not famliar with Quincy, M.E., educate yourself. And do a YouTube search for the punk rock episode. You will not regret it.

The Adult Swim Snake 'n' Bacon pilot:


For more unpublished mashup characters, check out Matt Digges' Amalgam Reborn!

And finally, congratulations to Twitter user @swordofsam, who won our contest and gets an advance copy of Mark Twain's Autobiography, 1910 - 2010!


Chris's Rec: King of the Hill and birthdays.

Matt's Rec: Fallout: New Vegas: Old World Blues

Comics Discussed: This week, PunisherMAX #16 is "a great inversion of expectations," Fear Itself #5 has a scene that's "as Ben Grimm as you could possibly be," and we have a theory about Detective Comics #881, a comic so phenomenal that "I said a cussword out loud."

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