Smart, pleasant, hamstrung by ideology
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“Wait, What? is the comics podcast for you if you fancy yourself an intellectual and thought Donald Trump was going to put gay people in concentration camps.
It's honestly probably the smartest comics podcast out there, and the discussion is at the level of most college courses -- but neither of those accolades really says very much nowadays.
In typical liberal white male fashion, both guys are somehow guilt-ridden, and pleased with themselves, and self-deprecating, and smug all at once. It's actually fine listening as long as you don't think too much about the deep inner pain that these aging childless men must be constantly repressing.
In typical modern-day journalistic fashion, the podcast puts forth a wealth of information and yet is totally oblivious to key facts that would crystalize (or refute) their arguments. You can hear them talk for literally three hours over the course of two podcasts about how "diversity" is not killing sales, and yet not once in those three hours do they cite any sales figures. Both guys are extremely knowledgeable about the industry, but they lack basic common sense and inductive reasoning skills. For instance, they will complain about the high price point of a graphic novel, emphasizing again and again the dedicated fanbase that would be interested in it, without bothering to consider that sales for the property have actually been quite small, and thus obviously the price on the graphic novel is high because the publisher would need to charge that much to produce a product with a very limited audience. Limited audience = larger cover price to justify production. Sounds simple. But the Wait, What? guys are instead stuck in the emotional loop of "Ugh why so pricey? People really like! Should be cheaper! Ugh why??? Argh mean corporation business capitalism!!!"
The guys also assume that their own social media bubble constitutes reality. They can't fathom why the comics industry doesn't cater 100% to the tastes of their friends on Tumblr. They become obsessively nervous whenever a comics company does anything with even the slightest shade of meaning that might offend Twitter, and they will spend an hour worrying about how Marvel and DC can possibly patch things up and apologize for misinterpreted offensiveness. Even when they acknowledge that really it is mostly a misunderstanding, never once will they place the onus on the social media crew to simply become a better, fairer, more rational audience. Instead it is all always a big offensive kurfuffle, very "problematic" and troubling. My word, it is all a huge scandal, as if someone forgot to cover their nose when they sneezed in the presence of a duchess in an 18th century European court!
The show is nonetheless enjoyable because of the host's knowledge and general amicability. They have spirited discussions and are generally in good humor. They care about the comics they like, and this comes through. But at the end of the day you have to keep in mind that these are two adult precocious children in their 40s and 50s whose favorite comic is Squirrel Girl, and they go through life believing that Squirrel Girl is actually a hit with young people, women, and minorities. And yet here they are, two straight white guys in their 40s or 50s, and actually Squirrel Girl is more or less... for them. They ostensibily consider themselves liberal and progressive, and yet they buy comics owned by Disney and Warner Bros., and their online presence is devoted to promoting films and other entertainment media made by the same corporations, whom they despise.
Under the surface it's all a troubling morass of hypocrisy and end-of-cycle cultural dysfunction, but on the surface at least it makes for engaging listening.”
Warwol via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
06/30/17
More reviews of Wait, What?
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“This is the one podcast I anxiously await every week and is the first one I listen to when it pops up on my iPod. Ostensibly about comics, it invariably veers off in myriad directions (most often in the direction of the Waffle Window), and it is always entertaining. It is obvious that Jeff and...”Read full review »
Christopher M. Beckett via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
09/02/11
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“Hysterical and frank, "What, What?" is always fun to listen to. Whether it's comics, tv/movies, or whatever topic happens to send them into the weeds, it's highly entertaining and educated.”
Edlockman via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
04/15/17
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“If you are like me and you are just now in your thirties and you are the only one in your circle of friends that continues to buy comics, this podcast is for you. It feels like friends sitting down and just talking. You get your comics discussion, you get the wild tangents and most of all you...”Read full review »
Steve Dial via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
10/11/11
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