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Life – Work – Comics! How have each of these three been affected by Covid-19 and the pandemic sweeping the globe? Kristin and Thomas are trying their best to help people and themselves. Hunker down with another podcast to make the days go by easier. We have links, recommendations, and good ol’ anecdotes from a medical and public librarian! We won’t judge your Animal Crossing town nor your bread-baking abilities!

Do you know a child, size 3T, who loves Spider-Man? No pressure, just asking. Have you considered sponsoring an angel tree child, either through Department of Social Services or Salvation Army? No pressure, just a thought. Can you hold up this anime transparency in front of this library chair? No press… actually, let us explain. All of this, plus piracy chat, review tropes, and our fresh picks!

Workin’ out, nerdin’ out, gettin’ the word out! Working the ropes n’ spokes for the new season of The Swole Stacks! Rio De Janeiro Mayor tries (and tries, and tries again) to ban Avengers: The Children’s Crusade from a book fair Cosplayer in residence Art Spiegelman: Golden age superheroes were shaped by the rise of fascism  The Far Side 2019??  Four Color Fantasies: The Gary Lee Watson Comic Book Collection at the University of South Carolina Ramona Fradon commissions still available Autostraddle - queer and nonbinary lifestyle blog Belgium Comic Expo: The Ninth Art at The Koger Center For The Arts

They sent us to shut it down! Kristin and Thomas deliver the Quebec Library Association's closing keynote. They aimed for a mixture of history, advocacy, passion, industry trends, and a few laughs along the way. What do a couple of American librarians have to share about comics? Come find out! (Note: there is a brief audio cut made during a description of EC Comics due to the recording device stopping and restarting. The missing snippet doesn't seem to harm the overall context of the segment, but please pardon any confusion that may result there.)

This is a mini-episode recorded while waiting for John Wick 3, but there's more content than ever! Kristin and Thomas talk about the Quebec Library Association Conference and the sessions they saw there. Does your library acknowledge use of native lands? What is the best way to utilize a religious space for community programming? Toronto and Montreal's Comic Arts Festivals were a blast! Sometimes the best way to vacation outside of America is to sit back in a hotel bed and watch Live PD. All this and just two picks!

Kristin’s back on Twitter! If you’re a librarian or a professional wrestler, watch out! A Free Comic Book Day anecdote results in relationship advice. Kristin’s down with ILL. Thomas resigns from public librarianship to tend to a massive comics library (in his dreams). #NotAllTeachers #Pedagogy #ListenToDiddy #PrettyDiddy #GraphicMedicine

Kristin reports on Wrestlemania, WWE, and C2E2. Buy more indie comics! What are the pros and cons of separating your collection’s DC and Marvel titles within the graphic novel stacks? What about grouping all the manga together? What is the ideal browsing scenario for your patrons? Do you pronounce cholera correctly? We namedrop a fair number of podcasts. What of Captain Marvel and Shazam? It’s a day that ends in Y, so Thomas is excited about another Green Lantern series.

Kristin's been injured, and only your listening can heal her! Well, that and #GraphicMedicine, right? We talk about the comics market, including recent and decade-old descriptions of the publishing and sales landscapes. Do you prefer comics in color or black and white? Nominate comics you love for recognition! All this and Peter Falk chat await.

The Secret Stacks is kicking off 2019 with LOTS of comics recommendations! Luciano Vecchio’s gives away the digital files of his black superhero posters. Kristin’s making high-stakes librarian rounds among a herd of doctors. Both of them share stories of their ill-fated high school comics, then reminisce about being touched by the works of Rumiko Takahashi. Kristin’s got another conference announcement to make, and Thomas reports why it’s a GREAT time to be a Jessica Cruz fan! All this and more in our first episode of the year!

The year is over, but your latest episode of The Secret Stacks has just begun! Kristin’s using the Arrowverse to fuel her bicycle training for a large gauntlet. BIG NEWS: We’re headed to Montreal in 2019 to deliver the keynote session of the Quebec Library Association’s annual conference! Kristin looks forward to watching Storage Wars in a Canadian hotel. Thomas credits his recent wedding to The Legend of Zelda - thanks, Akira Himekawa! Kate Kane and Mera brought the DC redheads this year. TKO tries out a new publishing model - how will libraries keep up? All this and plenty of fresh picks, all for you!

Welcome to Episode 47! We're back, baby! After a long summer hiatus we've returned to give you more comics goodness. We talk about the new Batwoman TV spot, Chelsea Cain getting hosed by Marvel yet again, Thomas's summer comics entrepreneurship program and we take some questions from the listeners! We're glad to be back!

Is summer over already? Hop in the Secret Stacks wayback machine to the end of April, releasing now in September! Back then, Avengers: Infinity War was a theatrical event and not just a series of kiosks asking you to extend this endless cultural experience for one... more... film. There was still time to vote in the Eisners. Universal Fan Con was still flickering in the convention consciousness. Plus a con report from Kristin and fresh picks that will never spoil!   Voting On The Eisners Philly Comic Con Does Universal Fan Con Ticket Holders A Solid Barnes & Noble Is Adding A Kids Graphic Novel Section SEE-IT Awards C2E2   Kristin’s Picks Bingo Love 9781534307506 As The Crow Flies 9781945820069   Thomas’s Picks Lighter Than My Shadow 9781941302415 Satania 9781681121437   Find a comics shop near you Secret Stacks logo and avatar by Severin Piehl, go read his webcomic Tove Theme song by Julie Jurgens, y’all

Welcome to Episode 45 of The Secret Stacks, your podcast about name brand footwear and knockoff drinkware. April Fool’s on Thomas and Kristin - opposite temperature extremes! It’s okay, though - Kristin can escape to the comfy halls and adjoining hotel of C2E2 while Thomas takes a nap on his back, the common cure for plantar fasciitis #GraphicMedicine. Movements regarding spoilers, a new Puerto Rico comics anthology, and 30 Days of Autistic Art are all discussed, plus fresh picks as always.

With ALA Annual taking place in New Orleans this summer, Kristin and Thomas reminisce about meeting there in 2011, plus convention observations in general. Student protests and repatriation get free, informative comics treatments.  A creator objecting to misuse of his intellectual property gets labeled as "the establishment" by... an establishment. March pollen ruined Thomas's throat, but the picks are still fresh! Check in to your nearest boom tube and have a listen, won't you?

A whole lot of news meets a whole lot of delays - what happened to our audio in February? It’s all good, just a little late. Better done than perfect, right? And these picks are so fresh they’re well within their expiration dates! Get with the times, New York Times - comics are only gaining in multimedia prominence, from print to cartoons to film adaptations to podcasts. Plus Kristin wants your sad/dead parent stories. All this and more on The Secret Stacks!

There’s a new Teen Center in town! Media companies are calling dibs on IP lines left and right. Does comics distribution need a shakeup to make entrance easier? What is proper dabbing etiquette? All of these topics plus some fresh picks for the second episode of January 2018. (Go Eagles!)

Who has time to say 'when' while there’s money to be made and lost? Superhero news everywhere! Black Panther, Black Lightning, Valiant, and the Catalyst Prime universe are offering a little variety. Want something else? Explore our Goodreads categories! Don't be like Thomas, hunting for affordable Absolutes - buy comics that will put your money to good use. All this and some fresh picks from years past, plus a new recipient of the Unanimous Recommendation honor. No matter what pushed you out of comics, there are plenty of titles ready for your return.

This is it, the final episode of 2017, recorded on the last day of the old year and published on the first day of the new! Kristin and Thomas gloat about their new podcasting toys before discussing a new comics creation tool for all ages, courtesy of Earth's global entertainment authority, Disney. We talk about proven methods for multiplying checkouts by high school students. There's a new tip jar on the website - your support means everything to us, even if you'd rather enjoy our content for free. All this and our fresh picks to close out the year.

Is your baby a happy cooer or a frowning warlord? Does Kristin’s Aquaman Funko live in an aquarium, or the watery graveyards of the Great Lakes? Will Black Panther make us all forget about Star Wars and Avengers running on fumes? Will Disney’s corporate fiefdom continue to consume everything and everyone? (Marvel Comics now on Hoopla!) Free Comic Book Day titles have been announced, and between those and our picks, there’s something for everyone. All of this and more for the first episode of December 2017.

On Episode 38 of Secret Stacks, Kristin and Thomas discuss their Thanksgiving adventures, the insane saga of C.B. Cebulski, and their favorite Christmas Carol version. They also answer the most important questions out there: Which Flash is the best? How shirtless is Aquaman in Justice League? How great is Taika Waititi? Make sure to check out SecretStacks.com to see Thomas's posts about the episodes, which includes handy links and lovely collages of the book covers! Enjoy!