Unpacking the Shelf

Unpacking the Shelf is a podcast by Adam and Alex.

Please join us as we return to video games and talk about the sixth game in the Shiren series, itself a spinoff of the Mystery Dungeon series, Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island.

In other news:

• Alex has finished a bunch of games, notably Midnight Suns and is happy it finishes strong. Also, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is amazing, and we talk about how we should do a Metal Gear Solid episode sometime. (1:25:55)
• Adam is playing the new SaGa game (SaGa: Emerald Beyond), but more importantly has watched his first Johnnie To movie, specifically Exiled. (1:32:36)

Unpacking the Shelf is a podcast by Adam and Alex.

This episode we welcome back Jake, co-manager of Fantom comics, as we discuss the works of Taiyō Matsumoto with a particular focus on the recently released (here in the west) first volume of Tokyo These Days.

In other news:

• Jake has been reading Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai (1:02:45)
• Alex has been chugging through his playthrough of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim and it's really good (1:04:15)
• Adam has been reading a very long mystery thriller novel, Lady Joker by Kaoru Takamura (1:06:32)

Unpacking the Shelf is a podcast by Adam and Alex.

Please join us as we chat about the second comic that we think follow in the footsteps of Vertigo comics of old, specifically the latest Flash run by Simon Spurrier & Mike Deodato.

Plus brief conversations about Alex stalling on his playthrough of Midnight Suns and starting 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim instead (1:07:42), and Adam watching the 2003 adaptation of Shiroi Kyotō, or The White Tower in English (1:18:08).

Unpacking the Shelf is a podcast by Adam and Alex.

Please join us as we chat about the first of two comics that we think follow in the footsteps of Vertigo comics of old, specifically 20th Century Men by Deniz Camp & Stipan Morian.

Plus brief conversations about the new TV shows doing old things Shogun and Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Please join us for our 40th episode, and the debut of our new name -- Unpacking the Shelf!

Please join Adam and Alex as they chat about a TV show for the first time, specifically the Twilight Zone. Four episodes are covered in total (and somewhat/mostly spoiled), in order of discussion:

• Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
• The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street
• Walking Distance
• Time Enough at Last

Plus brief conversations about Midnight Suns, The Hunger and the Dusk written by G. Willow Wilson with art by Chris Wildgoose, Unicorn Overlord, and even a little bit of Final Fantasy VII Remake/Rebirth.

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. It's time we talked about Jillian & Mariko Tamaki's latest comic book Roaming. Meanwhile, Alex took the opportunity to do some remedial reading, and actually read more by the Tamakis.

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. We watched & read Delicious In Dungeon, and now it's time to talk both about Ryōko Kui's manga and how well it's been adapted into an anime.

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. We watched Hayao Miyazaki's latest Studio Ghibli film, The Boy and the Heron, and we have lots to unpack both regarding the film and how it fits into the grander work.

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. It's part two of our Best of 2023 episode with Sarahti & Jake, co-managers of Fantom Comics. We each brought our top 3 picks for the year, be they movie, animated, comic, game, or even music!

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. This week we welcome back both Sarahti & Jake, co-managers of Fantom Comics, for the first part of our best of 2023 conversation. We each brought our top 3 picks for the year, be they movie, animated, comic, game, or even music!

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. This week we welcome back Sarahti, co-manager of Fantom Comics, as we talk Ms. Marvel, from the very first volume by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona to the most recent mini-series and even her recent Disney+ show.

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. This week we welcome Jake Shapiro, co-manager and part owner of Fantom Comics, as we delve into Uzumaki by Junji Ito.

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. This time we celebrate the release of the Pluto anime by talking even more about Naoki Urasawa (for more Urasawa content, check out Episode 4 where we chat about Monster). Join us as we chat about everything from Pluto's roots in Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy, to the various anime adaptations over the years.

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. In this episode we reconvene after Small Press Expo (SPX), chat a little about our individual experiences with the show, look ahead to MICE (The Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo), then delve into the main attraction, Glacier Bay Books. A list of the titles we focused on:

• Glaeolia Vol. 1 (13:10)
• Give Her Back To Me by Hana Chatani (33:22)
• A Favorable Wind on Full Sails by Arantoochika (47:24)
• PANDORA by Hagiwara Rei (1:05:00)
• Mothers by Umi Kusahara (1:15:40)

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. In this episode we read and discuss Kyoko Okazaki's River's Edge. First published in 1994, but newly released in North America by Kodansha this year (2023).

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. In this episode we delve into (some) of the history behind a game like Baldur's Gate 3, and then speak to our early experiences in the game.

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. In this episode we follow-up our conversation on Final Fantasy XVI by going back to 1991 and Final Fantasy IV.

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. We're back with cat updates & lots to talk about:

• Alex made Adam watch My Adventures With Superman, and we have thoughts to share (5:45)
• Adam delves into tokusatsu, Super Sentai, and Avataro Sentai Donbrothers (52:40)
• Then Adam checks in on Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury now that it's finished airing (1:31:30)
• Finally, Alex has finished Final Fantasy XVI (1:53:00)

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. In this episode we celebrate the release of Final Fantasy XVI by talking about the series, and what we each expect from a Final Fantasy game.

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. In this episode we return from vacation and delve into N. K. Jemisin's Broken Earth series.

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. We're both currently on vacation, so here we are our past selves talking about all the things! In this episode we:

• Learn that Alex has not read the Broken Earth Series by N. K. Jemisin (0:54)
• Conclude our conversation on Pollack's Doom Patrol (19:04)
• Get sidetracked by Babylon 5 & J. Michael Straczynski, before returning to Pollack (31:19)
• Adam talks Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, and we discuss Baldur's Gate and the works stemming from it (43:44)
• And there's always more SaGa: Scarlet Grace Ambitions (1:24:48)

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. In this episode we continue our conversation about Rachel Pollack's Doom Patrol run, and mostly (sort of) conclude that conversation -- that is until we truly finish it in the next episode (out in two weeks).

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. In this episode we eulogize P.E.O.W., a comics publisher from Sweden whose ten-year run ended in 2022 (it was a good run). We also chat about some of the artists and works:

• Linnea Sterte's Stages of Rot and A Frog In the Fall (38:44)
• Luca Oliveri & Mathilde Kitteh's Wrecked Hearts, as well as Luca Oliveri's No Love Lost (54:55)
• Brief mention of Ex.Mag (1:10:34)
• Jane Mai's P.E.O.W. (1:15:28)
• and whatever else Adam & Alex have been doing (1:50:30)

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. In this episode we:

• learn that Alex doesn't know about Homestuck (4:00)
• touch base on Citizen Sleeper (which Alex has finished) (10:22)
• contextualize a different notion of community in Last of Us, Part I (which Alex has started playing) (31:55)
• find out that Adam hasn't finished Citizen Sleeper because he's been playing False Skies, an indie RPG (58:53)
• then return to NORCO, yet again, for a spoiler filled conversation (1:25:50)

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. In this episode, much like the protagonist, we go back to NORCO; a 2022 point-and-click adventure game developed by Geography of Robots (which both of us waited until 2023 to play). Along the way we also chat about adventure games in general, King's Quest VII, and Citizen Sleeper.

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. In this episode we're back with more about Tatsuki Fujimoto, and specifically the much hyped Chainsaw Man anime! 

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. It's the year of enormous games, and following our initial Elden Ring podcast, we now chat about Xenoblade Chronicles 3 for nearly two and a half hours!

Double AA is a podcast by Adam and Alex. Time for our second episode, in which we talk about Ruina: Fairy Tale of the Forgotten Ruins.