We wanted to thank you, the listener, for a spectacularish 2011 the best way we know how: by pitting co-host against co-host in a contest that pits unchecked smarm against blind allegiance to a Midwest “city.” Sarah must answer questions about comics, Alex will be quizzed on Minneapolis trivia. And Brian? Well, he’s just looking for an excuse to drink the giant can of Four Loko he purchased several months ago (when it was still cool).

We’ve made a drinking game out of the competition, so you can play/vomit at home. The winner gets modest bragging rights, and the loser must photograph his or herself in a vaguely demeaning fashion. De La Soul put it best: Stakes is High.

Cross Hatch Podcast 015 [CLICK TO LISTEN]

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Cartoonist/educator Jeremy Tinder joins us for a very Chicagoan episode of the podcast. We talk the city’s red light district, a U.S. Acres movie, and whether anyone can ever truly own Ira Glass.

Cross Hatch Podcast 014 [CLICK TO LISTEN]

[Above, philosopher or baseball star of the 70's?]

Ignatz-nominated comics writer Fred Van Lente talks with us about Four Loko, his favorite island, impressive facial hair, and the trouble that comic book criminals have finding a good alley in NYC.

Fred Van Lente Day happens annually on December 6 over at the Comics Should Be Good blog at Comic Book Resources.  Relive the memories HERE.

Cross Hatch Podcast 008 [CLICK TO LISTEN]

[Above, Patrick Swayze is not a dracula.]

The Make Me a Woman author joins us to discuss eating squash, ice skating to Coldplay, and the driving habits or people in Winona Ryder’s hometown.

Cross Hatch Podcast 012 [CLICK TO LISTEN]

[Photo by Sarah Glidden.]

Saturday November 6th 2010 will surely go down as one of the most important moments in comics history—the day we recorded the first-ever live version of the Cross Hatch Podcast. The event occurred on the third floor of the Brooklyn Lyceum, a cold and cavernous space, as part of the second annual King Con.

The hosts of the show were Alex and myself—Sarah, sadly, was too cheap to fly in from Minneapolis for a 50 minute-long panel. R. Sikoryak, Lisa Hanawalt, and Julia Wertz joined us for the discussion.

What unfolded was a hilarious trainwreck of a faux quiz show, tackling subjects from the Sunday funnies, to the smell of Subway sandwich shops, to far, far darker fare.

We’ve labeled the panel “Explicit,” because, while we’ve bleeped out most of the swears, there’s still some subject matter that might offend.

So, please enjoy arguably the single greatest moment in comics history, again and again, like so many commemorative plates.

Cross Hatch Podcast 011 [CLICK TO LISTEN]

[Above, Space Master. Time Master not pictured.]

We talk Alex’s bike crash, comic book directors’ commentaries, Vanessa Davis’s new books, some unsettling Hernandez Bros. material, and why Sarah grew up in a house with no doors.

Cross Hatch Podcast 010 [CLICK TO LISTEN]

Sarah talks about the difficulty of moving books while changing apartments, we discuss grilled cheese drug deals and comic book herpes, and compare ringtones.

Cross Hatch Podcast 009 [CLICK TO LISTEN]

-BH

We talk about things that terrified us in comic books and stuff on TV that messed us up. Alex almost loses his mind trying to read listener mail. Brian tells us about the new Charles Burns book with what remains of his voice. And all of the 70-year-old Andy Griffith lovers finally get their reward for listening.

Cross Hatch Podcast 008 [CLICK TO LISTEN]

Alex and Brian spend most of the show weighing the merit of a Grant Morrison “Watchmen” adaptation. Sarah breathes a sigh of relief when we take viewer mail–only to return to Morrison/Moore talk. This one’s for the message boards.

Cross Hatch Podcast 007 [CLICK TO LISTEN]

Alex says lots of mean things about Harry Potter. We discuss Sarah’s theory about drawing sex in comics (don’t worry, it’s clean, folks). Some words are exchanged about the strange world of comic book message boards. Also, the mystery of our age: why won’t Alex draw Sarah’s pupils?!

Cross Hatch Podcast 006 [CLICK TO LISTEN]