438 - FCF: Goodnight Punpun, Vol. 1

The Four-Color Flashback, that most venerated non-Gobbledyween tradition, has been around in some form for nearly all of this podcast’s 11 years. And yet--we’ve never discussed manga, the world’s most popular comics format. Paul and Arlo have decided to rectify that with the first volume of Inio Asano’s Goodnight Punpun, the surreal exploration of one young boy’s troubled adolescence. Punpun Punyama has a crush on the new girl at school, stays with his hipster uncle because of his abusive dad, hears the voice of God, and is beginning to familiarize himself with the art of self-pleasure. Oh, he and his whole family are also rendered as simple little cartoon bird and/or ghost people, while the world around them is drawn in gorgeous detail by Asano. The boys share their limited experience with manga, Arlo enjoys weird vagina monsters, and Paul has an epiphany.

 

Next: free(style) as a bird(boy).

 

 

BREAKDOWN

00:00:55  -  Intro / Guest

00:04:58  -  Main Topic

01:16:40  -  Outro / Next

 

 

LINKS

• Goodnight Punpun: A Masterpiece of Millennial Fiction by Jamie Redgate, Books & Bao
• Goodnight Punpun and Good Morning Depression by John Smith, Ani-Gamers
• Manga Review: Goodnight Punpun by Jack Poskus, NEIU Independent
• Goodnight Punpun is the Strangest Manga of the Year (and One of the Best) by Tom Speelman, Comics Alliance
• The Depths of Despair: Oyasumi Punpun Manga by Lumi(?), Lumi Reviews Things

 

 

 

MUSIC

• “Baby Blue” by Fishmans, Kuuchuu Camp (1996)
• “Iko Iko” by The Dixie Cups, Chapel of Love (1964)

 

 

GOBBLEDYCARES

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ 
• Support AAPI communities and those affected by anti-Asian violence: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
• Support the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund: https://aapifund.org/
• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/