kgros


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 56: “A Bintel Brief” by Liana Finck

It’s real-talk, 1906-style. For today’s episode, Jam, Jon, Jeff, Jess, and Kaye read A Bintel Brief: Love and Longing in Old New York by Liana Finck. This unusual memoir takes the advice column from a hundred-year-old Yiddish newspaper and translates it into comics. It’s a unique window into a bygone […]


The TradeWaiters 55: “Archie” Vol. 1&2 by Waid, Staples, Wu, & Fish

Archie has continuity now?? For today’s episode, local Archie expert Kathleen Jacques joins us as we read Archie Volumes 1 and 2, the reboot written by Mark Waid and drawn by Fiona Staples, Annie Wu, and Veronica Fish. We discover who has never read an Archie comic before, how the […]


The TradeWaiters 54: “Why Art?” by Eleanor Davis

Why Art? by Eleanor Davis is a meditation on what art means for the artist and for society. This surreal story isn’t one that can be easily pinned down, but it is complex and insightful, and Jess, Jam, Jeff, and kgros will spend some time unpacking it with you. Read […]


The TradeWaiters 53: “The Complete Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi

Comics are the closest thing to the experience of remembering. The Complete Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran, living through the Iranian Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War, moving to Europe alone at fourteen, and returning home to a country she barely recognized. It’s one of the […]


The TradeWaiters 49: “The Witch Boy” by Molly Knox Ostertag

Get down with the magical commune. This episode Jon, Jess, Jeff, Jam, and Kaye read The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag, and it was a universal favourite. The Witch Boy is a middle grade graphic novel about magic, gender roles, and defeating dragons. Our panelists also reveal their cat-sonas […]


The TradeWaiters 48: “The Prince and the Dressmaker” by Jen Wang

Listen in as Jon, Jess, Jeff, Jam, and Kaye read The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang. This book is a stunning piece of cartooning and an instant classic. It’s a fairytale-esque historical drama about a genderfluid prince and his fashion designer slash muse slash confidante. TradeWaiters episodes have […]


The TradeWaiters 47: “Battle Angel Alita” Vol. 1 & 2 by Yukito Kishiro

It today’s episode Jam, Jeff, Jon, and Kaye read the first two volumes of Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro. Join us in the bleak, dystopian future of this nineties manga where robot bodies are cheap but freedom is not. Spoiler alert: one of the Tradewaiters didn’t like this book, […]