Shelfbound

This week’s Off Panel is a continuation of last week’s edition, which was a discussion of Smitty and Dixon’s desert island books and music. Today we continue the conversation with movies and, of course, graphic novels. To me, my panelists! DVDs Dixon: I’m going to limit myself to movies here, rather than use TV shows. [...]

In this week’s Off Panel, Smith and Dixon begin the discussion of those rare works of art they’d rather not live without. With the caveat that these choices may change on a yearly (if not weekly) basis, herewith, the fabled Desert Island question! Smitty: Desert island time. Fortunately, you knew you’d be flying over one [...]

When they were in high school Dixon and Smitty shared pretty similar tastes in music.  Since then they have maintained a dialogue about comics, books, and film, but music has fallen by the wayside.  Today’s Off-Panel fixes that. Dixon: Let’s talk about music!  What are you listening to these days? Smitty: I’ve been to a [...]

In this week’s Off-Panel, Smitty and Dixon are joined by guest contributor Peter “Unkle Pappy” Crume, and they explain why you’re wrong about the mad genius of Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, the much-maligned sequel to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Smitty mostly hosts and asks questions while the other two say [...]

Dixon: If Carnet de Voyage isn’t written by Craig Thompson do we care? Smitty: Interesting question. I’m not sure we (the royal “we”) do care; it isn’t as if Carnet blew the skirt up on the sales charts. But what you’re asking me, I think, is if it would be published and critiqued if Joe [...]

In this week’s Off Panel, Smitty and Dixon discuss the joys and hazards of trying to critique a medium you’re deeply in love with.Writing nerds will love this one, even though we did just end that last sentence with a preposition. Smitty: Now that we’re closing out week two of these reviews, I’m wondering how [...]

This week’s edition of Off Panel examines the origins of our love affair with comic books and how that relationship has changed as we’ve gotten older. Dixon: What was the first comic you bought for yourself? Smitty: I like the connotations of the question: not “your first comic,” but “the first comic you bought for [...]