This week Chris and Matt went to the slums of Shaolin to speak with Kagan McLeod, writer and artist of Top Shelf’s Infinite Kung Fu! Kagan talks about taking a decade to wrap up the book, how he kept his art consistent that whole time, who he based the characters on, and, of course, his favorite kung fu films! Plus, we take a call from a special guest who hosts a show on a certain radio station Chris loves.
The Rundown
- Follow Kagan on Twitter and check out his website!
- Kagan decided his move-name generator wasn’t really worth scanning, so instead he sent us some exclusive color art! Enjoy these pieces!
- Sadly, Ninja Thunderbolt is not longer on YouTube in its entirety. But you can at least see its rollerskating ninjas scene.
- There’s a huge Infinite Kung Fu preview up at Top Shelf’s website. Give it a read.
- David Wolkin did, in fact, name Infinite Kung Fu his only top-ten comic of 2011.
- Kagan’s movie recommendations: The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Shaolin Intruders, Boxer’s Omen, the Lone Wolf & Cub movies (including the TV one, Baby Cart in Purgatory).
- Go to wfmu.org and donate!
- Sims’ checks and recs: Crinque Deux DVD, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
- Matt’s checks and recs: Improv shows, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare
- Music used: GZA, “Duel of the Iron Mic”
Comics Talked About:
- Aquaman #6
- Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #7
- Uncanny X-Force #22
Shameless Self Promotion:
- The @FakeAPStylebook book, Write More Good, is still available to buy right here!
- Check out Sims at The ISB, Comics Alliance, his webcomic Awesome Hospital, as well as the complete Solomon Stone at ActionAgeComics.
- Check out Matt’s Fake e-Etiquette Twitter feed, his webcomic Copernicus Jones, his Tumblr and the ISS.
- Check out all Euge’s music at AdamWarRock.com.
- Check out Max Huffman on Twitter, or at his site.
- Check out Rusty Shackles on Twitter, or at his site.
Remember to send in your listener questions to warrocketpodcast_at_gmail.com!
Leave us reviews on iTunes!
Matt: Totally get your nervousness about improv. Nothing worse than bad troupes or even weak troupe members. Check out a UCB show if you’re ever in New York or LA, and it should be way less uncomfortable. ESPECIALLY in LA, where the original cast members still do shows. MAD PROFESSIONAL.
Chris, I’m with you re: being raised on Jackie Chan and finding the seminal ’70s stuff kind of paling in comparison. I actually tried to watch The 36th Chamber of Shaolin last year and it felt like such a baseline kung fu flick thanks to the dozens of derivative films that followed. I really wish I watched it as a teenager so I could appreciate it.
But I love Master of the Flying Guillotine. that movie’s totally insane, what with the decapitations and the stretching yoga guy. A+
The mainstage Second City folks are certainly no slouches, but I’ve been seeing a lot of free and/or student shows.
Yeah, student shows can be really rough. Some of ’em haven’t yet learned valuable rules like “A funny voice is not a character,” but it is cool to watch potential burgeoning superstars, like seeing a crappy local band with an awesome bassist.
Whenever my friends and I would go to one of the student shows here in SD (we had a friend, one such superstar, in the troupe), our audience suggestions were ridiculous and required things like getting one of the actors to pantomime “reality.” I’d like to think we helped improve the show, but this might be a gray area.
I would love it if, for Ajax Classic, you re-posted the interview with Colleen Coover where you talk about BioWare games. I’m about 2/3 of the way through Mass Effect 2, and I would really like to listen to that episode again.