Jonathon Dalton


The TradeWaiters 101: Comics Reinvented: The Next 100 Years

After much delay, we can finally bring you episode 101 of the TradeWaiters. This time we’re putting ourselves on the spot, and talking about our hopes and fears for the present and future state of comics. This is a continuation of our discussion from last episode on Scott McCloud’s Reinventing […]


The TradeWaiters 100: “Reinventing Comics” by Scott McCloud

It’s episode 100! Special guest Kathleen Gros rejoins the TradeWaiters to help us celebrate our anniversary, and we read Scott McCloud’s Reinventing Comics. This book made bold predictions of what the future of comics could be. More than twenty years later, we revisit Scott’s ideas to see where they’ve been […]


The TradeWaiters 99: “Dragman” by Steven Appleby

For this episode our intrepid TradeWaiters read Dragman by Steven Appleby. This hefty graphic novel cloaks a story about gender identity, predatory capitalism, and being true to yourself in a brightly-coloured superhero costume and sends it out to patrol the streets of London. Join us and listen in as we […]


The TradeWaiters 98: “Witch Hat Atelier” Vol. 1 & 2 by Kamome Shirahama

Today the Tradewaiters got lost in a fantasy manga with the first two volumes of Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama. We’ll break down what’s great about this comic, a few things that are maybe not as great, but mostly have a good time reading a book about kids who […]


The TradeWaiters 97: “Barefoot Gen” Vol. 1 & 2 by Keiji Nakazawa

For this episode we read the first two volumes of Barefoot Gen, Keiji Nakazawa’s semi-autobiographical account of surviving the bombing of Hiroshima when he was six years old. Barefoot Gen is the best book about the worst thing. Be prepared for it to be super traumatic, but no other book […]


The TradeWaiters 96: “All-Star Superman” by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

The TradeWaiters return like the rising sun to bring you All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. This limited series turned trade paperback takes us deeper into DC lore than we’ve ever gone before, and we bring you back tales of the unimaginable, opining on pacing, and the magic […]


The TradeWaiters 95: “Mad Love” by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm

Sparks artist Nina Matsumoto joins our panelists to talk about The Batman Adventures: Mad Love by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. This was the first appearance of Harley Quinn in a comic and the origin story of one of DC’s most iconic characters today. We talk about the behind the […]


The TradeWaiters 94: “Descending Stories” Vol. 1&2 by Haruko Kumota

Are you ready for a tale of tragedy and unrequited love (probably)? Come, sit down, and gather round as we read Descending Stories by Haruko Kumota. This series is “manga on hard-mode,” and is our first introduction to the Japanese art of rakugo, or “falling stories.” Join us as we […]


The TradeWaiters 93: “Space Boy” Vol. 1&2 by Stephen McCranie

This week we read Space Boy by Stephen McCranie. Discussion (and spoilers) for the episode will cover either volumes 1 and 2 of the tankobon-sized graphic novels, or up to episode 32 of the Webtoon. We’ll spend half of the episode talking about the Webtoon format, and then get into […]


The TradeWaiters 92: “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist” by Adrian Tomine

This week we read The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist by Adrian Tomine, diving deep into the most negative parts of one cartoonist’s psyche. We talk about the important place of “sad old man” comics in comics history, mumblecore, lonely book signings, and how cilantro salad is cringe (but only […]