Episode 3: The Best Comic I've Read This Year + Weed and Comics Pairing?!?

Stud and the Bloodblade, Bookhunter, Rhone White Blends, Chateneuf-du-Pape, and something special coming right up!

I won’t belabor this too much, god knows I went on and on and ON about this comic in the show, but I have to say: Stud and the Bloodblade is quite possibly the best comic I’ve read in 2022. I’m writing this in early October, so that’s truly saying something!

The TPB has just been released, so Google that shit and get your hands on the full collection. I doubt there will be a sequel (it certainly doesn’t call for one) but I loved this so much that I’d be down if they did one. This debut series has convinced me that writer Perry Crowe will come up with something stellar, even if unnecessary.

Published by CEX,a newly formed publishing branch of the online comics course/educational group, Comics Experience. STUD’s writer, Perry, took a course from CE, which gave him access to their forums. He then submitted a very short script inspired by those minicomics that used to come with He-Man action figures (god, I loved those! Though they were largely bite-sized bits of throwaway storytelling.) The forum workshoppers wanted more pages, and bloody Marc Sumerak (old-skool Marvel editor!) offered notes that helped Perry turn the concept into a full mini-series.

Comics Experience also offered a submission window for graduates of their courses. Perry met artist Jed Dougerty through an unrelated event called “Comics Creator Connection”, which I believe is referring to a Comic Con practice that’s essentially speed dating for writers and artists - the writers are on one side of a table, the artists on the other, and they all shift seats every 5 minutes to talk to the next person across from them. Perry and Jed hit it off, and managed to finish a submission packet in time for the submission window, and here we are!

That said, Perry still Kickstarted the first issue/chapter of Stud, but interestingly he did not repeat this for the subsequent 4 chapters. So while he needed funding to get the book off the ground, CEX must have jumped in for the remaining parts? As noted in the WaCPS episode, CEX chose to bundle two issues into double-sized “single issues”, making it a mere 3-issue mini of 48-page issues. But that’s still a 6-issue mini in total page count.

We Promised Weed and Comics Pairings

A bit back, I hinted that this episode was coming and writer Perry joked with the following:

I replied to Perry, saying this was an amazing idea, and my fiance would totally be up for it! One variant of cannabis per issue of STUD. We even recorded all three readings, and they were wonderful (she quite liked the book, and she doesn’t read comics!) But…well…those videos are no longer useable, for…the guessable reasons when it comes to relationships. I’m still on the lookout for the right person to film anew with. I’ve already read the books, and Dallas isn’t much of a cannabis person. Maybe one day! I haven’t given up the dream, Perry!

Remix 2018 'Old Vines' Redwood Valley Somm Blanc

Retail: $30

Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon Bordeaux style blend · Lolonis Vineyard

California: Mendocino County: Redwood Valley

This is the wine I paired with STUD (though don’t forget the maple wine was the true perfect pairing! Breakfast cereal meets adult dry white wine!) A classic Bordeaux style blend - which is always Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, usually in that order though occasionally you’ll find a Semillon-heavy blend, but those will usually cost you!

I’m not the biggest fan of Sauvignon Blanc from California - it grows too ripe, too tropical fruity here. But the vineyard in this case was from Redwood Valley in Mendocino County. This is a location I’ve been getting more and more into lately. The wines tend to be brighter, more acidic and fresh. This makes for more old-world style whites, though the reds are still taster’s choice. I recently bought some Petite Sirah from Redwood Valley and it tastes nothing like any Petite Sirah I’ve ever had. Tart and light in color, almost Ocean Spray cranberry on the palate.

That said, the flavors in both whites and reds from Mendocino stand out amongst the generally shared “new world” flavor profiles of the rest of California. Now that Paso Robles and Lodi have truly come into their own as boutique winery counties, I think Mendocino is the next place ready for their spotlight!

The vineyard for this wine in particular sports the oldest Sauvignon Blanc vines in America, planted in 1942. Which is really something, considering Mendocino still isn’t held up as that kind of treasured area for wine. at least not yet. But the Redwood Valley terroir + age of the vines and the reasons this wine comes as close to old world flavors as it does makes a lot of sense.

Bookhunter by Jason Shiga

Jason Shiga is a bit of a golden boy in the comics world. A Mathematician by education, but a cartoonist by actual interest, he’s been able to bring his math mind to his art, creating interactive puzzles, inordinately intricate choose-your-own-adventure books, and seemingly simple stories that often include a deep understanding of numbers, geometry, and additional puzzle solving skills.

It’s difficult not to groan a bit at the praise that gets lavished on Shiga. Lines like:

Cartoonist Jason Shiga is a national treasure and one of the most original and unduplicated storytellers currently working. Her’s been called a genius many times…probably because he is!

—Heidi MacDonald, Comicsbeat.com

But it’s equally difficult to consume a Shiga work and not start to buy into the hype, at least a little bit. Shiga is a singular artist and storyteller working in the comics medium. His first significant work was Fleep, a story about a man buried in a phonebooth with only a phonebook in a foreign language and some change to escape. (You see? Puzzles!)

Bookhunter is, from a narrative standpoint, just a freewheeling fun time. BUT…in typical Shiga fashion, he adds an insane depth of minutiae about American Library culture and systems. Very, very nerd territory, though it’s also a comic that is easy to enjoy as just a lark, following a deadpan agent as he hunts down late library books.

Most recently, Shiga has produced a 4-volume (!!) webcomic called Demon, which neither Dallas or myself have read, but I really want to now! He’s also done a standalone romance GN titled Empire State and in 2022 a new choose-your-own-adventure book titled Leviathan has just been released. So y’all got some homework to do!

Henry De Floret 2019 Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Retail: $39.99

Dallas paired Bookhunter with a 2019 release of a red Chateauneuf-du-Pape, which like all Rhone red blends is essentially a GSM (Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre) blend, though as we also discussed in Episode 1 when I paired Bacchus with a California GSM style blend, there are additional grapes that can be included in the blend, based on Rhone regulations/rules.

2019 was an “Exceptional” year for the region. You can see the ratings of each year in the above link, from 2011 - 2019. So while the 2019 is likely a very good vintage to put your money down on, as Dallas mentions in the ep, wines from this region age 10-20 years easily. So drinking a 2019 now, at a mere 3-4 years of total age, is very young. So it’s likely going to taste it.

Learn to set certain wines aside - put them under your bed, or in a closet. Somewhere out of sight, out of mind. Only to rediscover them years later and then you’ll be in for a treat!