Once again, it was a pleasure to be able to be able to participate in the show. Jamie of Picatrix was very fun to talk to even though I got off on a tangent about the concept of romance in mainstream comics targeted for Men. I also enjoyed finally getting all the way through the archives of Picatrix last night at about the 4 hour mark of the broadcast (which is really the post-show chat).

I think we did a fair good amount of gushing over “Picatrix” last night as we complimented Jamie on the good flow of her panels, the clarity of the action, the overall good quality of the art and the unification of the several themes in the manga with the website design. Primarily, it is a fantasy romance manga done in a traditional shoujo style despite this, the main audience of “Picatrix” is 65% MALE. It makes me wonder if that’s due to the comic community being predominantly male or if more men are starting to become more comfortable about admitting that they enjoy reading about pretty girls in short skirts having romantic hiccups?

If we really think about it, Spider has his own little Harem with MJ, Black Cat, and Gwen Stacey. The Green Lantern Corps has to deal with the Star Sapphire Corps, (and Hal has to figure out if he wants to deal with Carol or try for something with Cowgirl). Jean Grey (pick a version of her you like) has Logan and Scott fighting over her. OH or think about Rogue and Gambit’s physical intimacy issues and you’ll see that romance, although not always the headliner is in fact an integral part of some our favorite mainstream comics.

So back to “Picatrix”, what I look forward to finding out is what really happened to Winnie when Nina pushed her off the roof of Azrael’s castle and if she’ll stick to her promise and stay with Azrael even if they figure out a way home. Then there’s that notion of a growing love octagon with Eric, Hector, Sam, and Adam. If you are feeling really frisky, you might consider Spring as a possible contender for Winnie’s heart but that’s probably more the stuff of doujin.

I very much enjoy doing this show. And over the course of the past year, it’s been a sometimes bumpy, but always interesting ride. I am especially appreciative of the prospective guest who enthusiastically promotes their brief visit on our virtual couch. Be sure to tune in this week when we have J.L. Haram of Picatrix sit with us for a spell. Here’s her comic: http://www.picatrix.net/

~Mac

From the about page of “Picatrix” (in the author’s own words):

It all started with a list… one of those ‘Things to Do Before
I Die’ lists. I had just finished college and, much like Winnie
in the beginning of the story, found myself thinking, ‘What now?’
And so I drew up the list and at the top of that list was to ‘create
a webcomic’. After all, I’d always loved comics and webcomics were
just beginning to become an established part of the internet, following
the ‘user created content’ boom of the early to mid 2000s. It seemed
like it was time to check ‘create a webcomic’ off my to-do list…
it was either that or run a marathon!

Picatrix started out, quite literally, as a dream. Having discovered
the manga section at my local library, I’d settled down for the
evening with a stack of graphic novels and a six-pack of Red Bull.
The result: One very fitful night of sleep and a bizarre dream that
seemed to encompass bits and pieces of each of the graphic novels
I’d read. That, in a nutshell, is Picatrix.

Initially, Picatrix was meant to be a quick and easy yearlong project
to better acquaint myself with the ins and outs of creating comics.
Little did I realize just how attached to the characters I would
become! A year came and went, the story was told. And I realized
that the story had so much more potential beyond the strict retelling
of the dream that inspired it. Thus began the second and third redraws
(the second was abandoned after I realized that I’d made critical
errors, both in the storyline and in the page format). But through
all the challenges, Picatrix has been a lot of fun for me to work
on… I hope you have as much fun reading it as I’ve had creating
it!

It’s been a wild ride since that strange dream in February of 2005.
I’m excited about the future of Picatrix. The entire story is slated
to be approximately 1000 pages long and stretch over six books.
There are so many scenes that I’m just dying to draw! I hope you
enjoy following Winnie’s adventures as much as I do creating them!

J.L. Haram

Season 2, Episode 16
Show date: February 24, 2010 – 10:00PM Eastern/7:00PM Pacific
Location: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/45815
Ustream: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/macpaladin