I've decided to make a slight tweak to the TCJ Talkies format (another one! Will this podcast ever get off the ground?): I'm giving my guests much more freedom to choose the comics that get discussed. Previously I was trying to pair cartoonists with books I felt like talking about. Now I'm going to relinquish a lot more of the decision-making to the guests. It feels like a good idea. I think it'll help showcase each artist's taste, and possibly give some insight into how they come at cartooning based on the comics they choose to talk about.

This week I'm pleased to be joined by the creator of Nurse Nurse and Operation Margarine, Katie Skelly, who suggested we talk about Osamu Tezuka's The Book of Human Insects.

I liked this book, though the tape reveals that it's not the kind of comic I've read a lot of, or feel too comfortable expressing opinions about. It was very hard not to imagine folks listening to me fumble around mixing up character's names and not knowing what gekiga is and not feel a little bit self-conscious. But luckily Katie knows her stuff, and was able to fill me in on the context of the book in terms of how it fit into the manga that was being produced at the same time, and possibly how this particular story fits in to Osamu Tezuka's overall career.

Katie Skelly is the author of Nurse Nurse (Sparkplug), and Operation Margarine (AdHouse). She is the co-host of the Trash Twins podcast.